Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order on April 1 imposing the first-ever mandatory drought restrictions on the state. The governor directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory reductions in cities and towns across California to cut water usage by 25 percent. Last year, Brown asked that all the state’s residents voluntarily reduce water usage by 20 percent. Some did more than that, and some did less. Brown made the announcement from a meadow in the Sierra Nevadas. “Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be 5 feet of snow. The historic drought demands unprecedented action,” he said. The order requires 50 million square feet of lawns to be replaced with drought tolerant landscaping; directs the creation of a temporary, statewide consumer rebate program to replace old appliances with more energy efficient models; requires campuses, golf courses, and other large landscapes to significantly cut water use; and prohibits new homes/developments from irrigating with potable water unless water-efficient systems are used. To learn about how the state’s managing water systems to deal with the drought, visit drought.ca.gov.
This article appears in Apr 9-16, 2015.