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California Set for More Brown Lawns and Water Restrictions as State Issues 5% Allocation

Californians should brace for another year of brown lawns, tight water restrictions and increased calls for conservation as state water managers Thursday warned that severely reduced allocations are once again likely in 2023.

Drought-Hit California Cities to Get Little Water From State

California water agencies that serve 27 million people will get just 5% of what they requested from the state to start 2023, water officials announced Thursday. The news of limited water comes as California concludes its driest three-year stretch on record and as water managers brace for a fourth year with below-average precipitation.

For 2nd Year in a Row, State Water Project Will Limit Deliveries to 5% of Requests

For the second year in a row, the State Water Project will cut deliveries to 5% of requested supplies amid a continuing drought that officials Thursday termed “a new era.” The network of 21 dams and hundreds of miles of canals, pipelines and tunnels serves 27 million Californians from Chico through the Central Valley to Los Angeles, though not San Diego County.

Reporter’s Notebook: Here’s Why the Price of Water Fluctuates So Much Across San Diego County

The cost of water has over last two decades risen dramatically across San Diego County as a result of investments in desalination, ongoing maintenance, ever-increasing energy prices and unprecedented conservation. However, not everyone’s feeling those impacts equally. Rates vary considerably among the region’s two dozen local water agencies, according to an analysis done last year by the Otay Water District. For example, a typical 1,100 cubic feet of water costs about $90 a month in the city of San Diego, compared to nearly $137 in the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

Los Angeles is Running Out of Water, and Time. Are Leaders Willing to Act?

On a clear afternoon recently, Mayor Eric Garcetti looked down at the Hollywood Reservoir from 1,200 feet in the air.

“It’s as low as I can ever remember it being,” Garcetti said of the reservoir from the back seat of a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power helicopter. “You can see the bathtub ring.”

Request for Additional Water Denied to Las Virgenes Municipal Water District

As we enter some of the hottest and driest months in a historic drought, local water officials have asked the state to allocate more water to the area surrounding Malibu to help mitigate wildfire risk. Unfortunately, that request has been denied.

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District that services the Santa Monica Mountains unincorporated Malibu area, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Hidden Hills, in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District, made the request to the State Water Project citing the area designated as “very high fire hazard severity zones.”

State Refuses Request for More Water in Communities With High Wildfire Risk

State officials have denied a request by Southern California municipal water districts for more water to mitigate wildfire risk.

The agencies had worked with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to ask the California Department of Water Resources to allocate 26,300 more acre-feet of water under the health-and-safety exception to drought rules, using the rationale that the exception should include supplies to reduce wildfire hazards by irrigating vegetation in high-risk areas.

Salton Sea, Indian Tribe to Get 5,000 Acre-feet of Water Annually

 A natural resources investment company announced Thursday it intends to allocate up to 5,000 acre-feet of water annually to the Salton Sea and Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe as part of a public-private partnership intended to help reinvigorate the dying Salton Sea and ensure reliable potable water for communities on tribal land.

Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc. said that an agreement with the Salton Sea Authority, tribe and Coachella Valley Water District will be part of a wider water distribution enterprise known as the Cadiz Water Conservation & Storage Project, which originally focused on drawing water from the Colorado River and delivering it to Southern California metropolitan areas via a single pipeline.

American Canyon Facing Water Squeeze Amid Drought

American Canyon is making urgent calls for water conservation and suing Vallejo over a water disagreement as it tries to eke out every drop amid a historic drought.

The city’s water supplies are on the edge. Demand in recent years is about 2,800-acre feet of water annually. City officials estimate a potential 470 acre-foot deficit this year if demand remains the same.

Castaic Lake Water Level Lowers to 34 Percent Total Capacity

As of Monday, Castaic Lake held only 34 percent of its total water capacity, and state officials expect to see that number dwindle even further as the long hot summer continues, according to information from the California Department of Water Resources.

“SCV Water and the rest of California is facing a serious multi-year drought, and there is no end in sight,” said Santa Clarita Valley Water Sustainability Manager Matt Dickens in an April statement. “Our current water-saving efforts are falling short of our conservation goals.”