Gov. Brown Orders Statewide Mandatory Water Use Reductions

Images by the Yosemite Conservancy Half Dome webcam show the decreasing snowpack at the California landmark since 2011.

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Responding to lowest snowpack ever recorded, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered Wednesday that cities and towns across California implement mandatory restrictions to reduce water use by 25 percent– the first-ever such order in California’s history.

Brown accompanied state officials Wednesday to the Lake Tahoe area to announce the executive order. That’s where water experts measured the snowpack, which is a major source of water for the state but has been severely depleted to the ongoing drought.

“Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow,” Brown said. “This historic drought demands unprecedented action. Therefore, I’m issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reductions across our state. As Californians, we must pull together and save water in every way possible.”

Brown also ordered the replacement of 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state with drought-tolerant landscaping; the creation of a statewide rebate program for consumers who replace old appliances with more water-efficient models; mandatory reduction of water use at campuses and golf courses; and banning the use of potable water for irrigation at new homes and developments.

Local water agencies were also ordered to implement “conservation pricing,” aimed at penalizing customers who overuse water.

The governor announced the executive order Wednesday morning at a manual snowpack survey conducted 90 miles east of Sacramento.

Electronic readings have shown the Sierra Nevada’s snowpack’s water content is lower than any year on record, just 8 percent of the historical average as of late March, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

Read more about the particulars of the governor’s order on his website here.

– City News Service and Bay City News Service contributed to this report.