New government maps present almost all of the West is in drought and it is not even summer yet: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outside watering to only once per week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water provides and we've been preparing for it however we did not know it could occur this fast," said Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The most recent authorities maps show practically all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering extreme or excessive drought.

"This is actual. That is critical. That is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, general supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California isn't alone as reservoirs across the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to ensure water can circulate to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with climate change is that it takes all the historical patterns and kind of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised CBS Information' Ben Tracy. 

Reager stated the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as climate change makes it hotter and drier. 

"We're just beginning to see the dominoes fall. It's drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and now we have fires, and in California, there's just this sequence of consequences that we anticipate," stated Reager.