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California is experiencing the worst drought in its history, and the effects are being felt nationwide. Thus water issues have taken center stage in much of our reporting and the nation's.As the New York Times says, "Water has long been a precious resource in California, the subject of battles pitting farmer against city-dweller and northern communities against southern ones; books and movies have been made about its scarcity and plunder. Water is central to the state’s identity and economy, and a symbol of how wealth and ingenuity have tamed nature ..."As we continue through a fourth year of extreme drought conditions, you'll find all of our reporting on the related issues (and that of NPR and other member stations) in this centralized place.

State Board Approves New Water Restrictions

Bart Cayusa
/
Flickr, Creative Commons

Californians must adjust to the drought by using dramatically less water, and new restrictions approved today are aimed at making that a reality. 

The regulations, adopted unanimously by the state Water Resources Control Board, are a mix of both familiar and new strategies aimed at weathering the coming months, and being prepared in case the rains again fail next winter.

 

Officials warned that without drastic steps, a continuing drought would create catastrophic conditions. 

 

Prohibitions against hosing off sidewalks and driveways remain, as do bans on decorative fountains that lack recirculating systems and on allowing lawn irrigation to reach paved surfaces. 

 

Newly enacted restrictions prohibit irrigating during the 48 hours following a rain storm and offering restaurant customers water unless requested. Additionally, residential lawns, gardens and landscaping will only be allowed to be watered on certain designated days. 

 

State officials said each water company will determine which and how many days per week outdoor irrigation will be permitted, though state officials are recommending utilities allow only two days of watering a week.

 

George Kostyrko is a spokesman for the California Water Resources Control Board

 

“We’ve got water that is refined to the highest level and yet it’s being used to water plants and there are communities in the state that are so without water that they’re having water brought in,” Kostyrko said.

 

Officials have set a target cutting residential water use by a fifth. The regulations approved today are expected to win final approval by the end of the month. Details of the new restrictions, and how individual water districts plan to enforce them on customers, should begin arriving in the mail with April and May water bills. Violators face up to a $500 fine.