Statewide water restrictions–what are they and why were they enacted?
January 31, 2022
Starting January 4th, California’s State Water Resources Control Board announced mandatory water restrictions amidst another drought, as California residents have failed to follow the voluntary 15% reduction in water use.
“Although the restrictions may not seem like such a big deal, the state is analyzing the numbers and making changes accordingly from the science,” said Andrew Yan (‘23).
Some of the new restrictions include not watering lawns two days after rain, not letting sprinklers hit the sidewalk, and not allowing watering that leads to runoff onto the street. These come as a result of California’s driest year in a century.
“I don’t think that these water restrictions will affect my daily life because they aren’t large scale changes,” said Jordan Givens (‘24).
A 15% reduction was strongly suggested by Governor Newsom, but many Californias fell short on that goal, prompting mandatory restrictions. Citizens who violate the new rules are expected to be fined $500, but regulators don’t expect many fines.
“It will be interesting to see the amount of people who will actually follow these new rules because I’m not sure how effectively these restrictions will be enforced,” said Michael Hu (‘23).
State Water Resources Control Board stated that the enforcement of the new rules are up to local water districts, with no plans to have officers specifically pick out violators. The board has set up a website for citizens to report neighbors violating the rules.
“People may not respect these changes because of the increasing amount of restrictions put into place by the state,” said Hu.
The restrictions are similar to those put into place during its drought from 2012 to 2017. A 0% allocation by the State Water Project was unable to meet the water reductions to stop another drought, and 80% of the state was in extreme drought conditions, creating urgency for the board to make permanent changes.
“There is no telling when this drought will end, so I think it is important to follow the science and move forward from there,” said Yan.
