California is rationing water amid its worst drought in 1,200 years

quote:

---

Southern California is imposing mandatory water cutbacks as the state tries to cope with the driest conditions it has faced in recorded history. Starting Wednesday, about 6 million people in parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties are limited to watering outdoor plants once a week — an unprecedented move for the region.

---

quote:

---

"Metropolitan has never before employed this type of restriction on outdoor water use. But we are facing unprecedented reductions in our Northern California supplies, and we have to respond with unprecedented measures," Adel Hagekhalil, the district's general manager, said in a statement. "We're adapting to climate change in real time."

---

quote:

---

Nearly all of California is experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought. Very little rain fell in January, February and March, when the state typically receives half its annual precipitation. As a result, the state is facing its driest ever start to the year, with one recent study calling the current drought the worst in 1,200 years.

---

quote:

---

The Metropolitan Water District has imposed its harshest restrictions on Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, which depend on the State Water Project, a distribution network that brings water from Northern California to the state's southern region. During the ongoing drought, the SWP delivered just 5% of the water local municipalities had requested.

---