‘Water Supply Alert’ Issued for Southern California in Response to Drought

While local reservoirs have enough imported water for Southern Californians to weather the drought into next year, the severity of water shortages throughout the West on Tuesday prompted the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to declare a “water supply alert.”

The move triggers a call for a voluntary 15% reduction in water use. That reduction could help forestall further water savings moves, including restricting supplies to the 26 local water agencies served by Metropolitan and issuing fines for excessive use.