Board action recognizes disparities in regional water infrastructure, impacts on some communities
With extreme drought placing unprecedented stress on Southern California’s water delivery system and supply availability that prompted shortages for 6 million Southern Californians this year, Metropolitan Water District’s 董事会 is committing to providing its entire six-county service area with reliable and equitable access to available water and storage across the region.
董事会周二(8月9日)表示. 16)采用了一个重要的 决议 recognizing the impacts the historic drought and water system limitations have had on the region. The 决议 outlines remedies to address the situation by building infrastructure, 增加本地供应, 扩大合作, advancing water-use efficiency and planning for the escalating impacts of climate change.
“It is unacceptable that some of our agencies are experiencing a more dire situation today because of constraints in our water system that have been exposed by the current record dry conditions,大都会董事会主席格洛丽亚. 灰色的.
“Through this action, our board has made it clear that this problem cannot be ignored. We will be unyielding in our pursuit of solutions and improvements to fix this problem, which will ultimately make all of Southern California stronger and more resilient,”她说。.
After three of the driest years in California history, the State Water Project – which typically provides about 30 percent of the water used in Southern California annually – experienced its lowest-ever deliveries this year. Six Metropolitan member agencies serving portions of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties that rely on state project supplies from Northern California for some or all of their water supplies have been particularly impacted because Metropolitan’s water system lacked the flexibility to deliver from the 科罗拉多河 or access water stored in 钻石谷湖.
To stretch limited supplies and ensure these SWP-dependent areas have enough water to get through the year, 历史上第一次, Metropolitan in June required affected agencies to impose and enforce emergency conservation restrictions amounting to supply cutbacks of about 35 percent on average. Affected agencies include Calleguas Municipal Water District, 内陆帝国公用事业公司, Las Virgenes市政水区, 洛杉矶水电局, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.
“气候变化就在这里, but the system we created in the past is not sufficient for the future,大都会总经理Adel Hagekhalil说. “I am grateful for the extraordinary conservation actions our SWP-dependent agencies and their communities have made in the short-term to get us through the immediate challenge. And I appreciate the work and partnerships with all our member agencies to find new ways to bring Metropolitan and the entire region into a new era of reliability.
“That means increasing long-term water savings through water use efficiency, transforming non-functional turf into more appropriate landscaping and advancing the development of recycled water, 地下水恢复, 雨水收集和脱盐,他说.
为了应对创纪录的干旱, Metropolitan has collaborated with its member agencies to develop and apply 特别行动 aimed at preserving state project water for the communities that need it most. Investments include emergency drought projects that deliver 科罗拉多河 supplies and stored 钻石谷湖 water further into the district’s service area, along with pursuing water transfers and partnerships to access additional supplies. Metropolitan also accelerated its 纯水南加州 recycled water project to develop a new supply source for the region.
The adopted 决议 calls for specific projects and programs that will offer greater supply reliability for SWP-dependent areas to be brought back to the board by February 2023, along with quarterly reports to the board on the status of emergency drought projects. 它还优先考虑基本建设项目, spending plans and board approvals to expedite work on critical and time-sensitive elements that address supply and infrastructure reliability.
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, provides 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.
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