Lakes and reservoirs all around California have vastly receded for the past three years. The attention and concern for California’s waters have reached an all time high as more than 80% of the state now suffer from the highest stages of drought (Noyes, Katherine). This water shortage has slowly worsened due to relatively high temperatures, the lack of precipitation, and high water consumption by citizens, businesses, and most specifically, farmers. The water crisis heavily impacted the state’s booming agriculture, along with its ecosystems causing a war over water to surface. To solve the state’s water shortage, efforts to increase water efficiency from the public must be established through incentives and regulations, whilst preserving and …show more content…
To relieve the lack of water, Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency in January 2014 and instructed Californians to cut their water use by 20 percent. This state of emergency, however, leaves an economic inefficiency - California’s urban residents are still not responding quickly enough and have only cut their water use by 11.5 percent (Rogers, Paul). Incentives, strict rules, and regulations must be established to accomplish structural and behavioral changes from the public in order to conserve water. For example, citizens should replace old toilets, showerheads, and other appliances with more water-efficient appliances. Grass from yards should be removed and replaced with artificial grass or turf. In addition, water prices should go up in order to further encourage citizens to use water more conservatively. To see these regulations through, local authorities must be more stringent about the rules and regulations for water use as the drought worsens. In order for the public to make changes, they must be informed of the reality of the drought and the limited water that is available before water becomes truly scarce and hard to