And i m ready to do it. reporter: this is the first time that the metropolitan water district of southern california implements these restrictions. they say it is unprecedented. they say it s serious because we are running out of water. camila bernal, cnn, sylmar, california. cleanup under way in kansas after at least seven tornados swept through the state friday night. on saturday, crews worked to get power back in the area. city officials say several people had minor injuries, but thankfully, no deads were reported. dozens of homes were hit and the extent of the damage is still being assessed. you never get used to seeing scenes like that incredible. experts warn a new storm threat is evolving which could impact the state yet again. cnn meteorologist derek van dam is here with us. you never get used to these pictures, so terrifying. what could be making for bad
Extremely low. and it s not just lake feed. it s many of the reservoirs and lakes in this entire region. it s part of the reason why here in southern california, many are being asked to conserve water. in fact, beginning june 1st, about 6 million people are being told to only water their lawns once a week. and the situation could get worse. we spoke to the metropolitan water district of southern california, and here s what their general manager said. if i don t see the response between now and september, then i will go in mandating a full ban of outdoor watering across the service area that s impacted. that s serious. and i m ready to do it. reporter: this is the first time that the metropolitan water district of southern california implements these restrictions. they say it is unprecedented. they say it s serious because we are running out of water. camila bernal, cnn, sylmar, california.
Officials realized this was going to be a problem in 2015. they started building a new valve that goes deeper into lake mead. that s being used right now. it went into operation this week. it appears to be running smoothly. people are still getting their drinking water. it goes to show how big of a problem this is. because water levels are just extremely low. and it s not just lake feed. it s many of the reservoirs and lakes in this entire region. it s part of the reason why here in southern california, many are being asked to conserve water. in fact, beginning june 1st, about 6 million people are being told to only water their lawns once a week. and the situation could get worse. we spoke to the metropolitan water district of southern california, and here s what their general manager said. if i don t see the response between now and september, then i will go in mandating a full ban of outdoor watering across the service area that s impacted. that s serious.
Water. and, look, officials realize that this was going to be a problem in 2015. they started building another valve that goes deeper into lake mead. and that is what is being used at the moment. it is t started operating this week. and while people are still getting their drinking water, everything is running smoothly, this goes to show just how big this problem is. just how low these water levels are. and it is not just lake mead. so many of the lakes and res voirs in the region and california are at extremely low levels. in fact, it is part of the reason why here in southern california officials are telling millions to conserving water to be mindful of how they use their water in their everyday lives. about 6 million people are being told that beginning june 1st they could only water lawns once a week. we spoke to the metropolitan water district of southern california and the general manager telling me that the
The evidence of this mega drought in this region. in particular in lake mead which provides drinking water for more than 25 million people. the water levels are so low that its original valve put in in 1971 now sits above the water. so officials knew this was going to happen and in 2015 they started building a new valve that would go deeper. and that is what is in operation right now. it started operating this weekend, they say that things are going as planned, people are still getting their drinking water. but the thing is that this highlights the problem and how big this problem is, how low the water is. not just in lake mead, but in many of the lakes and resident vois reservoirs in the region. and california as a whole. so beginning june 1, at least 6 million people will be impacted because they are being told to only water their lawns once a week. and as we mentioned, it could get worse. that is what the metropolitan water district of southern california told us.