California drought brings water restrictions to millions

About 6 million people told to cut their outdoor watering to one day a week

A small stream runs through the dried, cracked earth of a former wetland near Tulelake, California. AP

Southern California's water supplier has taken the unprecedented step of requiring about six million people to cut their outdoor watering to one day a week as an extended drought plagues the state following another dry winter.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California this week declared a water shortage emergency and is requiring certain cities and water agencies it supplies to enact the cutback on June 1. They must enforce it or face hefty fines.

“We don’t have enough water supplies right now to meet normal demand. The water is not there,” district representative Rebecca Kimitch said.

“This is unprecedented territory. We've never done anything like this before."

The Metropolitan Water District restrictions apply to areas of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties that rely mostly on state water supplied through the district, including some parts of the city of Los Angeles. The affected areas are primarily urban.

The goal of the limitation on using water for grassy gardens, plants and things such as cleaning cars is to save water now for indoor use later in the summer when water use increases, said Adel Hagekhalil, the general manager of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The Metropolitan Water District uses water from the Colorado River and the State Water Project — a vast storage and delivery system — to supply 26 public water agencies that provide water to 19 million people, or 40 per cent of the state's population.

An aerial shot of a depleted reservoir on Grand Mesa outside Grand Junction, Colorado. Janie VanWinkle relies on the reservoir to feed her cattle.

An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the other, they haven’t.

Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.

An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado.

An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch shows how dry conditions have become. Down the hill, where the grass is green, shows the difference irrigation makes.

Frank Nieslanik poses next to produce grown on his farm. He’s farmed the land for 30 years and has never seen it so dry.

An aerial view of an irrigation canal on Frank Nieslanik’s farm shows the difference water makes to crops.

Farm workers sow a field at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.

An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch outside Grand Junction, Colorado, shows how dry conditions have become.

Keith Musselman, a scientist at the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, looks out towards the continental divide.

Produce from Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.

A view from the top of Grand Mesa overlooking the dry Western Slope of Colorado. In July, the state’s governor declared a drought emergency.

Janie VanWinkle drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.

Snow still graces the top of a peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Snowpack from the mountains is vital to the health of the Colorado River, which provides water to 40 million people in the American South-West and Mexico.

An irrigation canal runs through a farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The area is famous for its cattle and produce.

A view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the otherside, they haven’t.

Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.

An untapped irrigation pipe at one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family graze their cattle on.

Janie Van Winkle’s husband, Howard, drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.

A field is irrigated at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.

A winding portion of the Colorado River.

A depleted reservoir high on top of Grand Mesa near Grand Junction, Colorado.

A cow stands on a dry patch of grass on one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family use to graze them on.

A stretch of the Colorado River, near the river’s headwaters.

But record dry conditions have strained the system, lowering reservoir levels, and the State Water Project — which gets its water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — has estimated it will be capable of delivering only about 5 per cent of its usual allocation, for the second consecutive year.

January, February and March of this year were the driest three months in recorded state history in terms of rainfall and snowfall, Ms Kimitch said.

The Metropolitan Water District said that the 2020 and 2021 water years had the least rainfall on record for two consecutive years.

In addition, Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s main reservoir, reached its lowest point last year since it was filled in the 1970s.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked people statewide to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 15 per cent, but so far residents have been slow to meet that goal.

The western US is in the middle of a severe drought just a few years after record rain and snowfall filled reservoirs to capacity.

Scientists say this boom-and-bust cycle is driven by climate change that will be marked by longer, more severe droughts. A study from earlier this year found the western US was in the middle of a megadrought that has made the region the driest in at least 1,200 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The current drought in California's Mendocino County – an area known for outstanding beauty – is showcasing the region's precarious water situation.

Gavin Newsom holds a conference in the parched basin of Lake Mendocino in Ukiah, California, where he announced a drought emergency for Mendocino and Sonoma counties. Kent Porter / The Press Democrat via AP

Mr Newsom asked people to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 per cent in the middle of the drought. Kent Porter / The Press Democrat via AP

Mr Newsom also added nine more counties to the state's emergency proclamation. AP Photo / Josh Edelson

An air tanker flies over a vineyard during the Mendocino Complex fire in Lakeport, California, in 2018. AFP / Josh Edelson

The Mendocino Complex blaze was the largest fire in California history. AFP / Josh Edelson