NICK STOCKTON SCIENCE 04.01.15 7:56 PM Wired.com
A skier threads his way through patches of dry ground at Squaw Valley Ski Resort,
March 21, 2015 in Olympic Valley, California. MAX WHITTAKER/GETTY IMAGES
HE MAY HAVE dropped the news on April Fools Day, but California Governor Jerry Brown’s new water rules are no joke. Issued while standing in the bone dry Sierra Nevada mountains—which are usually packed with snow this time of year—Brown’s executive order will affect every user in the state, from cities to golf courses, parks to agriculture.
The edict attacks the water shortage in four ways: by reducing water waste, implementing stricter waste enforcement, streamlining the bureaucratic processes for water management, and developing new technologies to reduce both usage and waste. Most strikingly, Brown’s plan called for a statewide, mandatory reduction of water use in cities and towns by 25 percent.
