LONG BEACH – The city water department declared Thursday that a water shortage is imminent and urged a half-million residents to conserve.
It’s the first water department in Southern California to make such a declaration as dryness grips the West.
Long Beach’s water supply, imported from Northern California and the Colorado River, could be cut back as early as next year if the dry spell continues, said Water Department general manager Kevin Wattier.
“It’s prudent to save water now [rather] than let things get worse in the future,” he said.
Department officials have been concerned about a potential shortage after a federal judge in August imposed limits on water flows caused by huge pumps sending water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to users around the state. The judge said pressure from the pumps was damaging habitat and killing delta smelt, a fish experts say might be on the brink of extinction.
They also decided to take action after learning that Northern California water reservoirs, which were 90 percent full in March, are now 42 percent full, Wattier said.
Under the declaration, restaurants are prohibited from serving drinking water unless requested by customers and people are barred from washing their driveways with a garden hose.
Residents are asked to take shorter showers, and stop over-watering their lawns.
