As drought conditions intensify especially in Southern California, that state has put into effect strict emergency conservation measures.
The first of June marked the beginning of the implementation of Level 2 water conservation actions under Governor Newsom's Water Shortage Contingency Plan, which was activated through an Executive Order on March 28.
All state water suppliers must comply with Level 2 actions by June 10, according to the California Water Board. Some parts of California have already been affected by the new sanctions, particularly Southern California.
“Every water agency across the state needs to take more aggressive actions to communicate about the drought emergency and implement conservation measures," Gov. Gavin Newsom said on his website. "Californians made significant changes since the last drought but we have seen an uptick in water use, especially as we enter the summer months. We all have to be more thoughtful about how to make every drop count.”
According to California Water Board's "Water Conservation Emergency Regulations," urban water suppliers will be required to implement Level 2 water conservation procedures by June 10. The regulations are expected to last for one year, unless amended by the State Water Board.
Level 2 conservation practices include limiting outdoor irrigation to certain days or hours, staying vigilant on identifying and controlling water waste, enforcing water-use restrictions and increasing open dialogue about the importance of water conservation, the State Water Board said. Additionally, the new regulation bans commercial, industrial and institutional irrigation of turf, but has no impact on turf used for recreational or community purposes, the news release said.
CNBC reports that some of the strictest outdoor water restrictions ever enforced in the state went into effect for more than 6 million SoCal residents on Wednesday. The restrictions have been set by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, with the primary goal of decreasing water usage by 35%.
One of the main targets is "landscape watering", which amounts to approximately half of all urban water use in California. As such, household residents have been banned from watering their lawns more than once a week, according to CNBC.
These new conservation efforts have been imposed as California enters into its third straight year of drought. Raising serious concerns, the average urban water usage in March rose nearly 19% compared to March of 2020.
With potentially worsening conditions, officials are urging people to use recycled water for outside projects, take shorter showers and only run dishwashers and washing machines when they are full. If water usage doesn't decline significantly and drought conditions continue to exacerbate, officials could be forced to impose a full outdoor watering ban by September, CNBC reports.