The East Bay Municipal Utility District is on the verge of declaring a stage 1 drought and requesting customers reduce their water usage by ten percent across the district after two dry California winters.
Water Shortage
On Tuesday night, the utility district’s board of directors is scheduled to meet where district staff members will present the 2021 Water Supply Availability and Deficiency Report. They will also make recommendations on what to do next to address the problem.
The Sierra snowmelt above the Mokelumne River provides water to a series of reservoirs, aqueducts, treatment plants, and distribution plants which give EBMUD its water supply. District officials said this year’s water supply “is not sufficient for meeting customer demands and storage targets after meeting flow obligations in the Lower Mokelumne River,” the San Francisco Gate reported.
The board is also considering taking water from the Sacramento River using the Freeport Regional Water Project which has been done in the past in times of drought. Marin Municipal Water District was the first major water agency in the San Francisco Bay Area to declare a state of emergency last week and impose restrictions on its customers.
