Amid a growing water crisis across the state, officials warned Monday that they will cut water to Southern California farmers 30 percent by early next year and are drafting plans that could force residential water rationing for the first time in more than a decade, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
The moves come as a combination of drought, rising demand, fragile ecosystems and endangered fish has dramatically reduced the region’s water supply.
Officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – the agency that sells water to cities in the region – said the factors could push wholesale rates up as much as 10 percent within two years.
And they predicted that the trends could mean the region will lack water to meet all of Southern California’s demands about 70 percent of the time.
“If we are going to be effectively short on imported water 70 percent of the time, we’re going to have to make that up through conservation and changing our lifestyle here in Southern California,” said Jeff Kightlinger, the MWD’s general manager.
