California Governor Issues Mandatory Water Use Restrictions
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Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown announced strict and unprecedented mandatory water use restrictions to address the state’s horrifying drought crisis that’s approaching crisis levels.
Gov. Brown said where they were currently standing for the press conference should have been five feet of snow, not dry grass. The citizens of the state must come together, saving water in every way possible.
His announcement comes on the heels of the state’s record-breaking dry, warm winter that’s erased most of the snowpacks that typically provide 75 percent of the water supply during the summer months.
According to NBC, reservoirs around the area are going on empty.
The problem was already bad, as California was in bad shape before this last winter. Climatologists have claimed the state is currently in the worst drought in 1,200 years. Previously, the government has made requests of its citizens to handle droughts.
This is the first time the government has made a mandate about water use restrictions. Water utilizes have been ordered to reduce the consumption by one-fourth or 25 percent. While it means browner lawns and short showers, it’s not every day Californians that use the majority of the water.
Rather, the agriculture community, which makes up two percent of the economy uses 80 percent of the water. Basically, the state’s almonds use two times as much water as Los Angeles and San Francisco together. While California’s farmers must tell the state what their water usage is, they don’t need to follow the restrictions in the order.
Farmer Bill Diedrich said as a grower, this is heartbreaking.
Greg Gustafson, a resident, said how can anyone take a shower, flush their toilet or brush their teeth.
Will the new restrictions address the underlying issue? What kind of punishment will the government subject its citizens to if they go over their quota?
While no one has ever been locked up for watering their lawn too much, this drought could call for historic measures. A government spokesman said the possibility of people being jailed for water restriction violations could happen.
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