State Water Project allocation drops to 0; LADWP urges conservation in ‘dire situation’

After California announced that there would be a 0% initial allocation of water from the State Water Project in 2022, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Wednesday called on customers to reduce their water usage immediately.

“We want to stress to our residents, businesses large and small, and industrial customers, the dire situation we are now facing as a result of two consecutive dry years, and that by further conserving water now, they can make a big difference,” said Anselmo Collins, the head of the LADWP’s Water System.

“For those who are already vigilant in conserving water, we thank you and ask that you look around your home and place of work to see if you can cut back your use even further. For those who have not yet reduced their use and aren’t following the city’s mandatory water conservation ordinance, now is the time to comply. We need every single LADWP customer to step up and take action as we face a third dry year and serious drought.”

The utility receives about 40% of its water supply from the State Water Project, provided by the regional water wholesaler Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. During dry years, the city can receive as much as 60% of water from the SWP.

“The conditions on the State Water Project are unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. While we certainly hope they improve, we must be prepared for the reality that the state project may not have any water to allocate in 2022,” said Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

“Parts of Southern California depend on this supply almost exclusively for their water. We are working with our member agencies serving those communities — in parts of Ventura and northern Los Angeles counties as well as the Inland Empire — to make sure residents and businesses understand the severity and complexity of the situation and are responding by reducing their water use as much as necessary. At the same time, Metropolitan will continue doing everything we can to get water from other sources to these communities.”

The DWP on Wednesday urged customers to follow the Water Conservation Ordinance by limiting plant watering to three days a week and limiting cycles to up to eight minutes per station per watering day for non-conserving nozzle sprinkler systems or two 15-minute cycles per watering day for conserving nozzle sprinkler systems. It also prohibits all outdoor watering between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

More information is available at https://bit.ly/32HbKS0.

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