Ray Snachez/CNN
California Gov. Jery Brown imposed a mandatory water restriction Wednesday, an action he says is drastic but necessary. Under this mandate, cities and towns must reduce their water usage by 25%.
Californians will have to conserve water now that Governor Jerry Brown has made it mandatory. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Brown issued the mandate at a press conference in a parched, brown slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains which usually record roughly 5-feet of snow; today, scientists found none.
The order also set out new measures to reduce water use, including the replacement of 50 million square feet of lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping. They will also aim to reduce water usage at universities, golf courses, and cemeteries.
As California enters its fourth year of severe drought and the state’s snowpack is at record lows, California Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered a statewide 25 percent mandatory water useage reduction. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A statewide consumer rebate program would also be set up to encourage individuals to replace old appliances with modern, water and energy efficient models.
Last year, Brown declared a state of emergency in California over the crippling four-year drought, the most severe on record.
California Governor Jerry Brown, left, gestures to Department of Water Resources director Mark Cowin, center, and Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys, right, as he speaks to reporters at the site of a manual snow survey on April 1, 2015 in Phillips, California. (Photo by Max Whittaker/Getty Images)
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http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/us/california-water-restrictions-drought/
