Water Restrictions Could Expand To Marina Del Rey

PALOS VERDES, CA — Six million residents in Southern California will face water restrictions next month after water officials declared a severe shortage emergency amid the state's worsening drought.

Residents across dozens of Southland cities will fall under new restrictions as the region continues to experience severely limited water supplies, according to the Metropolitan Water District.

Marina Del Rey was not listed but local water agencies have urged residents to voluntarily cut back on water usage by more than 20 percent or face mandatory cutbacks by summer's end.

"This is a crisis unlike anything that we've seen before," MWD Executive Officer Deven Upadhyay said. "We really only have a little more than half of the water that we need to be able to make it through the summertime and into the end of the year under normal demands, and that's why normal will not work."

Although attempting to use less water in households will help, officials have identified outdoor watering as one of the biggest uses of water contributing to worsening drought conditions. As a result of such recommendations or restrictions in some areas, yellow and brown lawns will be the expected norm this summer.

“We cannot afford green lawns,” Hagekhalil said.

New outdoor watering restrictions will also affect at least some customers served by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Calleguas Municipal Water District and Three Valleys Municipal Water District.

Residents across the region were urged to make changes to save water such as removing lawns and replacing them with native plants that require less irrigation.

Gov. Gavin Newsom last month directed MWD and other water suppliers statewide to ramp up conservation efforts by advancing water-shortage contingency plans.

MWD offers a rebate of $2 per square foot for people who replace their grass with water-efficient landscaping. Rebates are also available from other local water agencies.

The rebate program has helped remove 200 million square feet of grass, which has saved enough water to provide about 62,000 homes with water each year, officials said.

During the state's annual April 1 Sierra Nevada snowpack survey, officials found that levels were just 38 percent of average. As of Friday, the state had received 15.63 inches of rain, 75 percent of the historical average, according to California Water Watch.

This, coupled with Newsom's January emergency drought declaration, means another summer of water restrictions.

Despite the healthy dosage of snow and rain to Northern California last month, the state is still sinking into drought.

The state emergency regulations direct residents to:

• Turn off decorative water fountains.
• Turn off/pause the irrigation system when it's raining and for two days after rain.
• Use an automatic shutoff nozzle on water hoses.
• Use a broom, not water, to clean sidewalks and driveways.
• Give trees just the water they need: avoid overwatering.
• To save water inside the home, residents can fix leaky pipes, buy a low-flow shower head, install a low flush toilet, upgrade old dishwashers and install a water aerator onto the kitchen sink.

All of the Southland and 92 percent of the state is under severe drought, according to the National Integrated Drought System. Such conditions have the potential to lengthen and intensify fire season as fuels continue to dry out. Severe drought can also stress trees, trigger plants to increase reproductive mechanisms and increase diseases among wildlife.