14 DAY TRIAL // The state of California has been, over the last three years, under what's possibly the most severe dry spell the region has registered in a long time. Because of the drought that has affected most of its territory, the area now has to ration water, according to the LA Department of Water and Power (DWP), the largest utility company in the US, which supplies water and energy to more than 3.8 million households. The plan has been adopted on principle, but the Mayor is highly unlikely to intervene, as he's the one who has requested it for the city.
Water rationing hasn't been called for in LA since March 1991, when another widespread drought affected the entire state and supplies were cut short. The same situation reiterates now, although experts say that the current state of affairs may turn out to be even worse than that before. The new proposal states that households that will consume more than the alloted amount of water per day will be asked to pay a penalty, twice as high as the water would normally costs.
Also, the DWP adds that outdoor sprinklers will be limited for use to 2 days per week, on account of the fact that they swallow up some 40 percent of the entire demands of the city. Under these conditions, it would make no sense to have people thirsting while the lawns are watered each day. Rationing will decrease LA's consumption by some 25 percent, according to estimates, which means that the city could potentially survive with this amount of water until weather returns to normal.
Besides the drought that has affected all of California, the snow-covered peaks of the Sierras, which are a traditional water source for the city, have yielded ever scarcer resources, on account of global warming. Maybe this knowledge will have the potential to wake people up from their over-consumerist lifestyles, and set them on a path of preservation and reuse.
Throughout the states, other cities are pondering similar measures as well, in hopes of limiting the levels of water their populations also consume. Most major rivers are severely affected by the drought, and some of their tributaries are completely dried up. Everyone in California currently hopes for storms and rains to come, other than bottled water manufacturers, which are having a field day during such times.