The picture on the left is typical of what is going on in California during the four year long California drought. It will last at least another year since the snow pack in the mountains is way down again this winter. No one knows how much longer the drought will last beyond next year. The drought is very serious since most reservoirs are down significantly. They have less than a years worth of water left in them to provide water to cities, farms and home owners across the state. If they do not get water soon, serious water restrictions will be put in place. They need to conserve even this limited amount of water that is left.

California Drought – Steps to Take

Many people in California appear to not be taking the threat seriously. They continue to water lawns, wash cars and waste water as if there is not problem. It is time to wake up since California is considering reducing lawn watering to twice a week along with many other restrictions.

In desert communities, twice a week watering will cause many lawns to die off and most tress that have been planted to also wither and die. All those beautiful palm trees will also die since they take copious amounts of water. Many residents and visitors just do not realize that each palm tree must be watered unless it is watered by an underground spring of which there are few.

Here are some of the things you can do to reduce water usage.

  • Use water efficient taps and shower heads
  • Convert old toilets to water efficient toilets
  • Wash cars one a week and use a pail rather than a hose
  • Repair all sprinkler systems especially those that spray water on roads and sidewalks
  • Convert to a desert landscape

There are likely many more things that can be done to conserve water. Look at your own situation and apply water reduction techniques. It will help your wallet as well.