Drought, and the resulting shortage of melting snow, is driving the historic water shortages in California.

Check out this interactive map from National Geographic which shows the decline in snowpack, and how it affects the water supply to different regions in the state.

Governor Jerry Brown implements first ever mandatory water restrictions.

As the California drought reached the four year mark, and near crisis proportions after record-low snowfalls, Governor Brown directed the State Water Resources Control Board to impose a 25% reduction on the state’s 400 local water supply agencies over the next year. These 400 agencies serve 90 percent of California residents. The agencies will be responsible for implementing restrictions and monitoring compliance.

See how the drought has affected California’s water usage in this New York Times article.

Who are the biggest offenders?

Most of the water consumed in California is used for farming. California’s farms produce and export fruits and vegetables, hay for livestock, meat and dairy products. Water supply restrictions for farmers were not set out by Governor Brown, but may be announced soon by the state. Farmers have been drilling groundwater to compensate for the lack of surface supply.

You can read more about how California Farmers are coping here.

Bye bye green lawns and lush golf courses. 

With restrictions in full effect California property owners are relinquishing their green lawns. That is everyone but Tom Selleck. Residential landscaping may soon become a thing of the past, as will lush manicured golf courses.

There are 866 golf courses in the state of California. The average 18-hole course uses 90 million gallons of water each year to maintain the greens. That’s enough to fill 136 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Many courses have shut down due to the lack of water, but 2/3 of the courses are still operating their irrigations systems regularly using drinking water. Noah Garrison, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Environmental Science Practicum Director, said “We should not be using our drinking water supplies in order to effectively water a lawn. We need to be finding alternative water supply sources or alternative ways of playing the game.”

Water prices are on the rise.

Water prices have risen 41% since 2010, and in 2015 prices were up 6% in 30 major US cities. In California alone the combined water, sewer and storm water prices for households were:

• San Francisco: $260
• San Jose: $104
• Los Angeles: $136
• San Diego: $171
• Fresno: $40

You can learn more from Circle of Blue.

Did you know?

• More water is used each day for irrigation than any other water use category
• Total water use has been declining since 1980
• California uses more water than any other state
• Each Californian uses 181 gallons of water each day