Long Beach Under Water Restrictions, LA May Be Next

The past year's low precipitation rate is starting to cause problems and has prompted Long Beach to "impose the region's most severe water restrictions in years". Water is about to get a lot more limited and thus expensive. LAT:

The measures, which took effect immediately after the city declared a water emergency, will force residents and businesses to change their behavior, including when they water lawns and how restaurants serve water to diners.

Regional water officials said Long Beach's action could be a precursor for other communities around Southern California as they grapple with the drought and a federal judge's ruling last month on water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The delta is a key source of imported water for the Southland, and officials believe the court ruling -- set to take effect this winter -- could reduce supplies by 30%.

This is not an isolated problem. The Metropolitan Water District, which gets about 60% of its water from the delta, is set to finalize water allocations in October. First they need to complete a study of the judge's decision. The limited water may increase costs and those will be passed on to consumers. The DWP seems headed in the same direction as Long Beach.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power may enforce mandatory water rationing similar to Long Beach's if the judge's decision is upheld and if the region has another bone-dry winter.

"Because water has been plentiful, with that came a certain degree of comfort and complacency," said David Nahai, president of the DWP board. "We have to jolt Angelenos out of that kind of mind-set. If things don't turn out favorably, we may return to [drought] protocols."

The new rules in Long Beach are reminiscent of the strict water policies adopted across California during the drought of 1990-91.

But officials said Southern California is in better shape now than during that drought because agencies have been aggressively storing water in recent years in reservoirs, which remain at healthy levels.

True, but if we get another dry winter, we will be in big trouble.

That reminds me. I need to talk to my landlord about the sprinklers in front of my building. Seeing them go off in the middle of the day really ticks me off.