Front Page  »  

California cities, towns must cut water use by 25 percent

April 2, 2015

Jerry BrownCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown announced an executive order Wednesday that will require all cities and towns in the state to cut their water use 25 percent from 2013 levels. [LA Times]

The executive order is California’s first mandatory water use restriction in state history. Under the new rule, the state can fine local agencies up to $10,000 a day if they do not comply with the required water cuts.

Brown made the announcement in a dry Sierra Nevada field that is normally covered with snow at this time of year.

“We’re standing on dry grass,” he said. “We should be standing on five feet of snow.”

Brown’s announcement came on the same day that water officials measured the lowest April 1 Sierra Nevada snow-pack in more than 60 years of record keeping. The governor warned that the current drought could persist.

The executive order will also require golf courses, campuses and cemeteries to cut their water use. New developments must be equipped with drip or microspray systems if they irrigate with drinking water.

Additionally, cities must stop watering median strips in the middle of roads, and the state will work with local agencies to remove 50 million square feet of grass. Workers will replace the grass with drought-tolerant landscaping.

State agencies will create a temporary rebate program with the aim of getting homeowners to replace appliances that use a lot of water with more efficient ones.

Critics of the executive order say it does not do enough to curb agricultural water use.

The state water board is tasked with implementing the new rules. The water board is expected to approve the regulations in early May.


Loading...
Subjects:                 
Related:


61 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

I don’t mind doing my part in water conservation if everyone else does their part.


This is what our Governor should have asked for along with the 25% drop in water usage in cities.


!) moratorium on new wine grape acres all over the state because wine is not a necessary food.


2) no new illegal immigrants or large groups of refugees


3) moratorium on building large housing developments, hotels/resorts, golf courses.


0

Why just a moratorium? Are you saying that after this drought is over there will never be another drought? So, if next year is wet do we lift the moratorium?


Grapes live to over 100 years old. Houses last over 100 years. (I am trying to think of something for Illegal Immigrants. Give me a minute).


0

Grapes and houses don’t multiply.


0

A sign posted in bathrooms during the last drought: “If it’s yellow, it’s mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down”


0

So Jerry, do the envirocakes have to reduce the amount they dump from the state’s 50% of cached water designated for “environmental purposes”? Another manufactured “crisis” brought to you by the left’s “best and brightest”.


0

Here’s my super obvious question. If they can build the Keystone pipeline in a year or two for pumping oil from flippin Canada all the way to Texas, why can’t a pipeline be built from the Pacific Northwest to let’s say Lake Shasta? Then the water can be pumped to the state water system. Am I missing something?


0

Yes, the California environuts and judges that let them clog the system.


0

The attitude about California’s problems from most other states that have excess water is amusement. They regard us as arrogant (second only to Texas) and ignorant in many ways. They care little about our problems thinking that we deserve them.


The point? What makes you think they are willing to go to any trouble at all to help us? Why would they even want to allow the necessary creation of storage reservoirs and creation of right-of-ways for the needed pipelines? There would have to be one HELL of a financial incentive and, even then, a lot of time spent overcoming the opposition of groups who don’t want such things done at any price.


Also, even Washington and Oregon have more “desert” areas (east of the Cascades) than wet country and the wetter areas tend to get excess water in large spurts which would be difficult to capture for transportation. Desalination may end up being more cost effective if we can supply enough energy to do it.


0

So Jerry, do the communities that you are flooding with illegal immigrants have to cut down on water use as well?


0

There’s such an obvious answer to so many problems in our modern world. STOP making babies, and there won’t be a need to scrounge on every last resource.


0

One word: Idiocracy.


Specifically, the intro scenes.


0

what was that book from the 60’s. the Population Bomb? might have bee Paul Eherlich


0

Don’t blame Jerry for a flood of illegal immigrants. To the extent that it is still happening at all, it was started long ago and is much more a function of the feds than the state. All Jerry is trying to do is to make them “legal” — and keep them voting Democrat in the process.


By the way, this drought is already reversing the flow of illegals back to Mexico and Central America by eliminating a lot of migrant farm labor jobs. It will increase to the point of a “flood” out of the country as the drought continues.


0

Except that the second wave of unaccompanied children (mainly teen boys) are arriving now in Texas.


0

Why doesn’t Jerry postpone the high speed rail folly and put that money into desalinization plants. That would truly benefit the whole state.


0

I am not sure he has the authority to do that although it would be a good idea to postpone or cancel it if he could.


However, I am not sold on the concept of large scale desalination. We may all have to bite the bullet to pay the costs of adapting to the water shortages but we don’t have the energy resources to do more than limited desal. (It is a very high energy process.) Any new sources of energy take time to develop and we don’t really have that time.


0

We live in a natural desert. What did you water wasters expect ?


Learn to live with what you got. Do you REALLY need to wash your car every week ?

If you were not so dirty you wouldn’t have to shower every day, and you’d be healthier ( natural immune protection ).

Your over-watered lawns create mold, bacteria, and mosquitos.


0

I take it you are one of those who doesn’t shower every day? Perhaps your bitterness comes from people’s reaction to your odor?


0

sorry but we live in a Mediterranean climate. and can YOU call us all water wasters? get a life, troll.


0

We need Direct Groundwater Injection and more reservoirs. Orange County sucks up water from the river and pumps it underground for storage. This technology is being adopted around the world. It would solve the problem of salt water intrusion in Los Osos and it could be used in Cambria. But, the people who block any development have used restricting water supplies as a weapon.


We need to stop dumping water through our dams to keep a few fricking fish and frogs alive. The environmentalist have successfully blocked every new water storage project for decades. 90% of all the water is used by agriculture and industry. We would be in a crisis even if every person left California.


0

Salmon fishing provides billions of dollars in revenue and jobs in both commercial and recreational fishing. To start sacrificing fish and animals for our wasteful wants and needs is complete bs.


0

Pure unadulterated political BS.


All of em wait for the perfect time to create a “Crisis”.


Why don’t these “fallible” yahoos ever THINK outside the box?


Yes. A redundant question.


Now here’s where I’ll get all of the thumbs down:


Gov. Brown; [I beleive] God is judging California due to yours and the legislature’s immoral laws that you have passed. Which go against His laws for His creation. Not only California, but the rest of the nation, and the world.


However, you and the world haven’t seen anything yet. And this is just the birth pangs. Getting ever so severe before His wrath comes upon an unbelieving world.


But there is eternal life in Christ Jesus.


0

Elephant in the room. Fracking. Oil drilling exempt from water usage mandates.

Currently, Freeport in Price canyon is using 384,598,000 gallons of fresh ground

to use to produce drop for drop toxic waste.


Pending permit to expand oil operations would increase fresh water extraction

to over 1,153,794,000, that’s billions, gallon of water that will not be going to

over 9,457 families indoor water use for a year, not going for tourist accommodations

like showers and not going to ag or ranchers which is whole other bone

of contention.


And every single drop of water McMoRan uses is used to produce

toxic waste that needs to be disposed of and is in violation

and cited 11 wells by DOGGR for illegal dumping waste into protected aquifers.


Board of Supervisors is aware of the violations and was called upon to

order a cease and desist on the offending wells. They declined to respond.


Freeport must not be allowed to use fresh ground water to produce toxic

waste and increase their water usage by 300% when everyone else is

being mandated to reduce usage by 25%.


Board of Supervisors is the lead agency. The Board of Supervisors has

the power to order a cease and desist 1) current violation of dumping in

a protected aquifer 2) moratorium on water usage to produce toxic waste

in an emergency drought conditions.


0

You sure about that Jeanne? I bet that you are wrong.


0

I googled you Jeanne and I’m sorry but I am going to have to discount what you have to say on this issue. I didn’t know whether you worked out there or not and knew something we didn’t know, but it is apparent that you don’t. I don’t know of any oil field in California that uses fresh water for steaming. I’m pretty sure Freeport uses process water separated from the oil they pump out of the ground. If they do then it is not “fresh” by any means and you are just fear mongering.


0
1 2 3