Calif. drought, water rationing

Not long after former Gov. Jerry Brown announced the end of a grueling six-year drought in 2017, the Legislature passed two controversial water-efficiency laws designed to promote even more conservation — even though residents have done a remarkable job reducing their water usage.

Those new laws required utilities to reduce daily water usage by an average of 55 gallons per person by 2023. Some commentators mistakenly claimed that the laws would lead to individual fines, even though the targets applied to water districts rather than consumers.

Conservation boosters reassured Californians that they wouldn’t be fined for overly long showers and lawn watering. But three years later, the state is facing an intense new drought. Now, officials in Northern California are imposing the type of water rationing people had feared. Southern California water agencies are better prepared, but they could ultimately proposed similar rules.

In Healdsburg, officials are now requiring residential and commercial customers to cut their water use by 40 percent — immediately. In Santa Clara County, that includes San Jose, the water district recently passed emergency water restrictions that require residents to cut water use 33 percent below 2013 levels.