纽约宣布干旱进入紧急状态

With record dry conditions straining Southern California’s water supplies, Metropolitan Water District’s 董事会 today 宣布干旱紧急状态 and called for increased efforts to maximize conservation, especially in communities facing the greatest challenges.

The declaration comes as California grapples with unprecedented conditions on state water resources. Water years 2020 and 2021 were the driest two-year sequence on record for precipitation in the state. 在八月, Lake Oroville – the main reservoir on the 国家水利工程 – reached its lowest point ever since being filled in the 1970s.

作为今天紧急声明的一部分, Metropolitan’s board called on its member agencies dependent on state project water to use increased conservation measures or other means to reduce their use of these limited supplies.

帮助该地区节约用水, the board also approved a series of measures to expand various rebate and water-efficiency programs.

“We need immediate action to preserve and stretch our limited 国家水利工程 supplies,董事会主席Gloria D. 灰色表示. “Southern California on average gets about one-third of its water from Northern California via the state project. Next year, we’ll be lucky to get a small fraction of that.”

The California Department of Water 资源 has indicated its initial SWP allocation next month will be zero. 如果干旱状况持续下去, the state could do something it has never done before – provide only enough water as deemed necessary to protect the health and safety of Californians. Under this never-before-used provision of the SWP contract, the state has indicated it would constrain water deliveries to a level that may prevent any outdoor watering.

“We’re reaching uncharted territory here and we need all Southern Californians to be part of the solution,” Metropolitan 总经理 Adel Hagekhalil said. “We need everyone to take action to reduce their water use immediately. This drought emergency declaration helps us all move in the same direction.”

While the region’s SWP supplies are particularly stressed this year, much of Southern California can turn to the 科罗拉多河, local supplies and Metropolitan’s stored water in the 科罗拉多河 system. 今年, Metropolitan has taken extraordinary actions to preserve SWP supplies by instead delivering 科罗拉多河 water to as much of the region as possible. Metropolitan has rehabilitated the Greg Avenue Pump station, allowing 科罗拉多河 water to be pumped further west than it ever has before, into the San Fernando Valley and Southern Ventura County. 大都会会员机构, including Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Three Valley Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District, 有 同意收货 大都会公司处理过的科罗拉多河水, rather than the untreated water from the SWP they would normally receive. Metropolitan is negotiating similar arrangements with other member agencies.

仍然, some areas of Southern California remain dependent on SWP supplies, 包括洛杉矶的一些社区, Ventura and San Bernardino counties served by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 卡莱瓜斯市水区, Las Virgenes市政水区, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, 三谷市政水区, 和内陆帝国公用事业机构.

“Our 科罗拉多河 supplies are finite as well – there is a drought on that system, 所以我们需要每个人都明智地使用水. 但188bet棋牌平台最紧迫的是国家水利工程. That’s why we’re calling for increased conservation in those dependent areas,” 灰色表示.

Today’s declaration marks the latest in a series of actions Metropolitan has taken to ramp up conservation in the Southern California. 今年8月，大都会的董事会 宣布供水警报 对于这个地区, calling for consumers and businesses to voluntarily reduce their water use and help preserve the region’s storage reserves. Some of Metropolitan’s member agencies 有 already gone a step further by implementing new mandatory conservation measures or maintaining past ones. 

下 扩大保护计划 approved today, Metropolitan will provide an additional $5.5 million to install high-efficiency toilets in older apartment buildings; increase its turf replacement program rebate from $2 to $3 a square foot for public agencies that replace grass with more water-efficient landscaping; and provide an additional $1.5 million for its program to directly install water-efficient devices for income-qualified customers. 此外，董事会还批准了一项新的 $2.600万资助计划 to help public agencies detect and repair leaks in their distribution systems.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, 连同它的26个城市和零售供应商, provide water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the 科罗拉多河 and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, 回收, 存储和其他资源管理程序.