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Drought triggers water restrictions for 6 million Southern California residents

Southern California residents are being called on to immediately reduce water usage by 20 to 30%.
Damian Dovarganes
/
AP
Southern California residents are being called on to immediately reduce water usage by 20 to 30%.

Southern California water officials declared a water shortage emergency following record-breaking drought conditions throughout the state.

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said it's implementing a program that will restrict outdoor watering to one day a week in parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.

Using words like, "crisis," "unprecedented," and "drastic," the water supplier said the restrictions will take effect on June 1 and impact some 6 million residents.

"Supplies have been so dramatically reduced over the past three years that in some parts of the region, we simply don't have enough water to meet normal demands this year," the Metropolitan Water District said in a statement.

As a result, Southern California residents are being called on to immediately reduce water usage by 20 to 30%.

"If enough water isn't conserved, or if supply conditions worsen, outdoor watering could be eliminated altogether later this year, and limitations could be placed on indoor use," the group said.

January, February and March – typically the wettest months that provide much needed rain and snow for the remainder of the year – turned out to be the driest on record, according to the Metropolitan Water District.

"Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures," the Metropolitan Water District warned.

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Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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