Malibu Water District Intensifies Drought Response

MALIBU, CA — Malibu's water district voted Monday to escalate their drought response, just weeks after their main water supplier declared a drought emergency.

The West Basin Water District first put their drought response plan — the Water Shortage Contingency Plan — in motion on June 26. Tuesday's move pushes the contingency plan straight into phase three of six, which calls for increased outreach and education and implementation of conservation efforts to generate a 30 percent reduction in water use, according to the district's website.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide drought emergency on Oct. 19, as the state may enter its third consecutive year of drought. Ever since, many water districts have declared more local emergencies and escalated their drought response, including nearby Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.

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West Basin is largely responding to the Nov. 9 drought emergency declaration from the Metropolitan Water District, which provides the majority of West Basin's water. This decision, the West Basin district said, directly called on customer agencies to implement mandatory conservation practices.

"The Metropolitan drought emergency demonstrates the seriousness of this drought and puts into focus the fragile situation that our region is in," West Basin board president Harold C. Williams said in a statement.

The West Basin Water District launched a campaign on Nov. 16, dubbed SUPER-CALI-FRUGALISTIC, to encourage its 17 cities to reduce their water use.

The district uses less water on average than Southern California and California at large, according to a supplemental document from the district.

Additionally, the district has been decreasing its water use since 2020, according to the district's website, but not as much as necessary.