In response to worsening drought conditions, the board of Southern California’s regional water wholesaler will consider declaring a Water Supply Alert on Tuesday that calls upon residents to voluntarily conserve the precious resource.

According to Metropolitan Water District officials, Southern California’s water supply has been severely impacted by extreme drought in both the Northern Sierra and the Colorado River, saying crucial storage reservoirs have never been lower.

As a way to safeguard storage reserves, the board will consider declaring a Water Supply Alert to stress the urgency of the region’s need to save as many drops as possible. The action calls for water agencies and consumers in Southern California to voluntarily reduce usage.

Metropolitan’s proposed action comes a day after the Bureau of Reclamation was expected to declare the first-ever shortage on the Colorado River, which will trigger cutbacks for Arizona and Nevada next year. It also supports Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call last month for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% amid worsening conditions across the West Coast.

According to the governor’s office, a 15% cut in water use would save 850,000 acre-feet of water—enough to supply more than 1.7 million households for a year.

Newsom said residents have responded to drought conditions before, and he was confident they would take steps again to ease their water use. He urged residents to limit outdoor watering, use recycled water when possible outdoors, take shorter showers and only run dishwashers and washing machines when they are full.

Should conditions worsen, Metropolitan officials could later decide to take further action, including imposing financial penalties for excessive use on Metropolitan’s 26 member public agencies and retail suppliers that provide water for 19 million people in six counties.