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Californians increase water usage amid drought

July 16, 2014

water2Amid the worst drought to hit California in decades, Californians have increased their water usage.

In January, Gov. Jerry Brown asked Californians to slash their water use by 20 percent. Nevertheless, a California Water Resources Board report shows a 1 percent statewide increase in water usage in May, compared to the average amount of water usage in May over the past three years.

While most regions used less water, the heavily populated region that includes San Diego, Riverside and Los Angles, increased water usage by 8 percent. In the Central Coast region which includes San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, water usage was 10 percent lower for May.

After very few Californians listened to Brown’s plea to conserve water, the State Water Resources Control Board voted 4-0 Tuesday to impose new restrictions on outdoor water use starting Aug. 1 that could result in fines of up to $500 per violation.

The new regulations permit up to $500 a day fines for outdoor watering that runs off from the area of landscaping, using water to clean hard surfaces such as walkways, washing automobiles without shut off nozzle on a hose or using non-recirculated fountains. Indoor water usage will not be affected.


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Big AG should be fined for growing heavy water crops in a drought, especially those in historically dry farmed regions.


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Water usage will always go up. Were growing in population daily. Mostly from south America. If Brown was anything close to being a responsible leader he would have foreseen this drought and he would have put in place a plan to mitigate the problem years ago. Fines and regulations are like bum holes…every politician has one and nothing good comes out of it.


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Is there due process before the government agency can take your property ($500). If the soil beneath your lawn is hard and dry from the drought and some surface water runs off does that permit a fine?


Pit neighbor against neighbor – sounds like a good strategy, that way we forget who the real enemy is.


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Ha! I just thought of something. A form of residential terrorism…someone rat you out for a minor indiscretion and you know where they live…go turn their water faucets and sprinklers on full blast when they leave or they are asleep.


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Easy to explain, the newly arrived illegals are taking showers.


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Yeah, right. When is THAT ever going to happen?


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How about waiting until they are on vacation and the sprinklers are on a time, give a sprinkler a little kick and it will break, take a picture and call big brother and the family can come home to a $500 fine (per day).


Or what if a sprinkler just happens to break? Without knowledge or intent, that 2 week vacation just cost an additional $7,000.


Never mind that 80% of water used in California is by the agricultural sector and only about 14% is used by households (indoors and outdoors). Fine the little guy without the big lobby dollars.


Long live government scum!


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