A possible water supply alert is being considered by Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, who serve 18 million people in the region. Their board will discuss the option next month because places where water is taken is found to be "unusually" dry and for environmental reasons (delta smelt).

“A ‘water supply alert’ does not mean less water being supplied; it means that the water being supplied is severely depleting reserves, and that if water use is not cut to help balance the use of reserves, the region will more likely be in a shortage and instituting rationing,” Bob Muir, an MWD spokesman, explained to the OC Register's Sciencedude blogger, Gary Robbins.

If the alert is passed, it is the second of three steps to impose water rationing. MWD says they have enough water to last through 2008, but in 2009, there is uncertainty.

Photo by Todd Baker << technowannabe via Flicr