How much thought do you give to the act of turning on the faucet? In California, it’s not a simple question.
The state is in the fourth year of a historic drought that has pushed water supplies to critical lows, and stories of shortages abound. On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown handed down mandatory water-use restrictions that are meant to cut the state’s consumption by 25 percent. The order will be enforced by the state’s local water-supply agencies, which are allowed to figure out how to make the cuts happen.
Brown stressed to Californians, according to the New York Times, that the drought has put the state in a “new era,” in which people can’t take water for granted as they have in the past.
Here in the generally rainy Midwest — and in the Miami Valley, which sits upon a massive, productive acquifer — we’re guessing most folks don’t really think that much about water and the need for it. Is it something you worry about? Email me at rrollins@coxohio.com.
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