LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California’s gigantic water supplier has taken the unprecedented step of requiring about 6 million people to cut their outdoor watering to one day a week as drought continues to plague the state.
The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared a water shortage emergency Tuesday. It's requiring the 26 water agencies it supplies to implement the cutback on June 1 and enforce it or face hefty fines.
The MWD relies on water from the Colorado River and the State Water Project to supply 40% of the state population. But the State Water Project expects to provide only 5% of its usual allocation.
