California Eases Water Restrictions Amid Recent Storms

Facts

• On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced the end of drought restrictions for 7M people following California's 11th atmospheric river this season, with the state recording record snow and rainfall this year.¹
• The decision by the company, which supplies water for 19M people in six counties, has ended nearly a year of restrictions due to severe water shortages.²
• While recent storms have improved water supply availability in the area, the water district notes that water storage reserves are still 'drawn down' and shortages remain due to challenges faced by the Colorado River, the region’s other source of imported water.³
• The region still remains under a water supply alert that urges consumers and businesses to voluntarily continue reducing their water use. Local water providers in the area may continue to have mandatory water-saving measures in place.³
• Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom surveyed flood damage in a central coast agricultural region of the state on Thursday, as evacuation orders remain in place for nearly 61k people. California is also predicted to see a 12th atmospheric river next week.⁴

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²NBC, ³Axios and ⁴Wfmz.com.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by CBS. Although the recent storms have brought floods and other devastating weather events, they do present some benefits: For the first time since 2020, California isn't faced with extreme drought, allowing districts to ease the iron-grip water restrictions imposed on the parched state.
• Narrative B, as provided by Verge. While the recent rain in California may be a respite in some regions from the years-long drought plaguing the state, much of California still remains in some sort of drought or under abnormally dry conditions. The complex nature of climate change means that there will still be wet and dry extremes, so Californians shouldn't believe that the drought is over and must keep conserving water.