Drought
Desperate for Water
What You Need to Know
Water is needed to sustain life, yet it’s often in high demand and short supply.
In coming years, the LA region is expected to face a challenging combination of decreased water supply and increased water demands because of climate change. As the local temperature rises, heat waves and less rainfall in our area are causing long seasons of drought that affect physical activity, commerce, recreation, agriculture and farming, and capacity to respond to emergencies like wildfires. While droughts may seem out of our control, there are many ways to both conserve and use water responsibly.
Know Your Risk
Who's Impacted Most?
Drought has the potential to impact many lives across LA County and the southwestern United States. Drought conditions are especially concerning for:
Everyone dependent on water
Drought conditions reduce people’s access to clean and affordable drinking water.
All residents
Droughts, followed by extreme rain, can increase people’s risk of getting Valley Fever, a disease caused by inhaling fungus spores carried in soil dust when stirred up by strong winds, digging, or other disturbances to the ground.
Lower-income households
These households may struggle to afford increasing water rates during a drought.
Agriculture workers
Droughts can directly impact agriculture, leaving workers with irregular schedules and reduced incomes.
What You Can Do
Collect rainwater.
Use rain barrels and cisterns to collect rainwater during the rainy season to water your lawn and landscaping. Apply for rebates on rain barrels, cisterns, and other water efficient household appliances.
Learn More
Replace your lawn with drought tolerant landscaping.
Apply for the Turf Replacement Program to remove your lawn and replace it with native drought tolerant landscaping.
Learn More
Collect warm up water.
Keep a bucket in your shower to collect water while it warms up. Use the water to water your indoor and outdoor plants.
Invest in water efficient appliances.
If you have an older washing machine or dishwasher, consider switching to newer, efficient appliances. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances use much less water than conventional appliances.
Know your water sources.
Find out where your water comes from and how we can capture more of our local water sources.
Learn More
Drought By Numbers
In 2017, 59% of the water in LA County was sourced from outside the region.
(OurCounty Sustainability Plan, pg. 57)
