California Residents Asked to Conserve Water During 'Unprecedented' Drought

Southern California officials have already declared a water shortage emergency in the region, with the first phase requesting that 6 million residents limit their outdoor residential waterings to once a week, according to CBS News.

According to government maps, 95% of California has already experienced "drought" conditions, with levels ranging from "severe" to "extreme."

"We knew climate change would stress our water supplies, and we've been preparing for it. But we did not know it would happen this fast," said Gloria Gray, chair of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors. 

Citing the Drought.gov website, severe drought conditions can be severe:

• Grazing land is inadequate.
• Fire season is longer, with high burn intensity, dry fuels, and large fire spatial extent.
• Trees are stressed; plants increase reproductive mechanisms; wildlife diseases increase.

The criteria for extreme drought conditions have far-reaching consequences: 

• Livestock need expensive supplemental feed; cattle and horses are sold; little pasture remains; fruit trees bud early; producers begin irrigating in the winter.
• Fire season lasts year-round; fires occur in typically wet parts of state; burn bans are implemented.
• Water is inadequate for agriculture, wildlife, and urban needs; reservoirs are extremely low; hydropower is restricted.

Regardless of the gradation, California officials are concerned about such prolific drought conditions occurring so early in the spring.

"This is real. This is serious. This is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

This problem extends beyond California's borders.  

Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to ensure water can flow to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with climate change is that it takes all the historical patterns and kind of shifts them," said NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager, via CBS News.

Reager says the West has been in a 22-year "megadrought," as climate change makes it hotter and drier. 

"We're just starting to see the dominoes fall. It's drier, we're starting to see less water in our reservoirs, and we have fires; and in California, there's just this series of consequences that we anticipate," Reager said.

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