About 6 million Southern Californians ordered to cut water use amid drought

Southern California's gigantic water supplier has taken the unprecedented step of requiring about 6 million people to cut their outdoor watering to one day a week as an extended drought plagues the state following another dry winter.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday declared a water shortage emergency and is requiring certain cities and water agencies it supplies to implement the cutback on June 1 and enforce it or face hefty fines.

"We don't have enough water supplies right now to meet normal demand. The water is not there," district spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch said. "This is unprecedented territory. We've never done anything like this before."