News

Orange County will Receive Far Less Water Than Needed in 2011

This past year brought slightly above-average precipitation to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which is a key source of water for Southern California, but our region is still in the midst of a water shortage due to several years of drought and court-ordered restrictions on water deliveries from the Sacramento Delta and Colorado River. These factors have led the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Moulton Niguel’s wholesale water provider, to announce plans to deliver far less water in 2011 than is needed to meet our region’s needs.

Limited availability of water from the Delta and Colorado River in recent years has caused an increased reliance on water stored in reservoirs, such as Lake Mead, which is at its lowest recorded level. Much of this year’s available water will go to restoring storage levels in those state and regional reservoirs, so continued conservation will be critical to meet our needs in the year ahead.

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