Millions of gallons of rain and melted snow have been captured from the pair of storms that soaked Southern California over the past week and a half, but officials insisted it will take far more rain and conservation to end the state’s four-year drought.
“Although Mother Nature is providing California a late-season gift, we’re relying on residents and businesses to continue to pitch in and conserve as much as possible by forgoing watering outdoors over the next week,” said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
“We all need to be reminded that the water we save today is water we can call upon to help meet our supply challenges as the drought continues.”
The Metropolitan Water District supplies much of the water for San Diego County, though the San Diego County Water Authority has invested in alternate supplies and is increasingly less reliant on the Los Angeles-based agency.
Metropolitan Water District officials said the storm will provide some relief to the dry Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain watersheds, but not nearly enough to end the state’s four-year drought.
The district is slashing water deliveries to its member agencies, including San Diego, by 15 percent this summer to help meet calls for drastic reductions in water use.
Water officials throughout Southern California are reminding homeowners to turn off sprinklers for up to a week or even more in the aftermath of the latest storm.
City News Service contributed to this article.