Update on Proposed Fines for California Drought Water Usage

California Lawmakers Crack Down in the Face of a Monstrous Drought

For the past four years, the state of California has suffered through one of the worst droughts in history. A historic and unprecedented lack of rain has created the need for some very immediate and systemic changes regarding water usage.

As Governor Brown and state officials urge California residents to cut back, local county and city governments have begun passing ordinances that restrict water usage. These restrictions often ban residents from washing their cars and doing other activities involving water. Some neighborhoods are prohibited from watering their lawns while other neighborhoods have placed residents on a schedule, permitting sprinkler usage on only one day a week. 

Thankfully, these restrictions, as well as awareness of the issue, have led to an impressive 35% cut in California’s water usage.

Celebrities Among the Most Egregious Offenders

Many California residents have allowed their lawns to go brown in order to conserve water while others have transformed their yards using zeroscaping. Unfortunately, many of Hollywood’s elite have eschewed the water restrictions and have continued to operate their sprinklers, enjoying lush, rolling lawns while their surrounding neighbors have dead grass.

Each individual water district is responsible for policing its residents. As such, uniform policies have failed to develop. For instance, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District is patrolling wealthy Calabasas neighborhoods for violators and has issued many violation letters to famous residents. Some of these individuals were fined.

However, it appears many water districts are not being vigilant about the issue. In Los Angeles, only 9 people were fined despite thousands of warning letters for violations. In Beverly Hills, where some of the more outrageous violations have occurred (and where the largest yards exist), no fines have been levied yet.

California Spring Usage Limited During Drought

California is home to many natural springs. Water bottle companies like Nestle and Sugar Pine contract with the California government to pump water from the springs for bottling and resale. In January of 2014, the governor announced a state of emergency. In response, the California Water Resources Control Board ordered Sugar Pine Spring Water Company to stop diverting water from the Sierra Nevada spring to its bottling facility. Despite this order and numerous warnings, Sugar Pine continued to divert water and was recently slapped with a whopping $225,000 fine.