Californians demolish their back yard swimming pools thanks to record drought

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California Governor Jerry Brown ordered a 25% cutback in water use by cities and towns in the state on Wednesday
Photos taken on Wednesday show the ongoing drought is already taking its toll on once technicolor landscapes
Signs showing river closings and offering drought friendly services signal that change is already underway
The crackdown comes as California and its nearly 40 million residents move toward a fourth summer of drought
State reservoirs have a year's worth of water and with record low snowfall there won't be much to replenish them

By Associated Press and Reuters and Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline

Published: 00:58 EST, 9 April 2015 | Updated: 09:44 EST, 9 April 2015

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Private swimming pools could become a thing of the past in California with some residents opting to have them removed as they face a mandatory 25 per cent reduction in water use imposed in the face of the state's fourth year of severe drought.

Photographs emerged showing workmen demolishing swimming pools with jackhammers as the drought continues.

California on Wednesday moved to tighten already stringent water regulations as part of the state's effort to respond to the crisis and signs have appeared offering drought friendly services and announcing closures throughout the dehydrated city.

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A construction worker uses a jackhammer to demolish a swimming pool at an apartment complex on April 8 in Hayward, California

California on Wednesday moved to tighten already stringent water regulations as part of the state's effort to respond to the crisis

The ongoing drought is already taking its toll on once technicolor landscapes with the state left dry and parched by the lack of rain

Desperate measures: Pleasanton resident Dan Green fills buckets with recycled water at the Dublin San Ramon Services District residential recycled water fill station on Wednesday

Save water: A car enters what claims to be a drought-friendly carwash on April 8, 2015 in La Canada Flintridge, California, on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in northern Los Angeles County, which is among the worst offenders in California in an effort to save water

Alter status: A sign posted roadside warns passing motorists of the Water Conservation Alert Status on Wednesday

No more water: A gardener carries his tools following work at a South Pasadena home on April 8, 2015 in California, where a way of life once prized by homeowners throughout the state - the green grass lawn - is coming to an end with the realization there is no more water

A park with a fountain and a koi pond is seen in Beverly Hills, California on Wednesday as California's cities and towns would be required to cut their water usage by up to 35 percent or face steep fines under proposed new rules released on Tuesday

Mandatory cut back: A home with a lawn and flowers is seen in Beverly Hills, California where residents are required to cut their water usage by up to 35 percent or face steep fines under proposed new rules released Tuesday

Drought friendly: A Dwarf Bottlebrush is pictured in a drought-tolerant garden during a media preview at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California on Wednesday

The regulations passed by the California Energy Commission come on the heels of action on Tuesday to propose a framework for California's first-ever mandatory cutbacks in water use as the drought enters its fourth year.

'In the face of California’s current drought, we must use water as efficiently as possible,' said Commissioner Andrew McAllister.

'Updating minimum standards for toilets, urinals and faucets is a step in that direction.'

Sadly the drought has forced ski resorts to close down, and a photograph of children playing where a river once stood is an ominous beacon of change ahead as California orders water conservation.

Under the rules, which go into effect in 2016, the flow through new kitchen faucets sold in the state would drop slightly, to 1.8 gallons (6.8 liters) per minute from the current standard of 2.2 gallons (8.3 l) per minute.

How Californians are adapting to drought water restrictions

They would be allowed to temporarily go up to 2.2 gallons, however, 'momentarily for filling pots and pans; the Commission said in a news release.

Bathroom faucets would be further restrained to 1.2 gallons (4.5 l) a minute from 2.2 gallons.

The commission also codified a restriction on toilet flow passed by the legislature in 2007, requiring use of no more than 1.28 gallons (4.8 l) per flush.

The regulations would require new urinals sold in the state to process just 0.125 gallons (0.5 l) per flush.

Old terrain: Visitors play in snow from a recent snowstorm on the dried up Truckee River in Tahoe City, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Wednesday

Dried up: A 'River Closed' sign is posted on the Truckee River which has dried up because of lack of water at Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Wedneday

Landscape makeover: A motorist drives past a median in South Pasadena on Wednesday in California, where a way of life once prized by homeowners throughout the state - the green grass lawn - is coming to an end with the realization there is no more water

No more river: A floating dock is high and dry on Wednesday on the Truckee River where it originates from its source at Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Addressing drought: California Governor Jerry Brown waits for reporters after a three-hour meeting on the drought with agricultural, environmental and urban water agency leaders from across California, Wednesday, April 8, 2015, at his Capitol office in Sacramento

Change: David R. Brown, Executive Director, is interviewed in a drought-tolerant garden during a media preview at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California on Wednesday

Sectioned off: 'River Closed' signs are posted on the Truckee River which has dried up because of lack of water near Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Wednesday

California water regulators on Tuesday released a framework for enforcing a statewide 25 percent reduction in water use before the hot, dry summer season begins.

Communities that have not made progress on conservation since voluntary restrictions went into place last year, including many where residents' use is not measured by water meters may be forced to conserve as much as 35 percent over the amount they used in 2013.

Calfornia Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a 25 percent overall cutback in water use by cities and towns in the golden state and the ongoing drought is already taking its toll on once Technicolor landscape of lush yards, emerald golf courses and aquamarine swimming pools.

The crackdown comes as California and its nearly 40 million residents move toward a fourth summer of drought with no relief in sight.

State reservoirs have a year's worth of water, and with record low snowfall over the winter there won't be much to replenish them. Wells in some parts of the state are going dry as groundwater levels fal

California governor orders statewide water restrictions

Change in vegetation: A home with a garden of drought-tolerant plants is seen in Beverly Hills, California on Wednesday

High and dry: A buoy is high and dry on the Truckee River where it originates from its source at Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Wednesday where the level of the lake is 6 feet below the minimal level of flowing into the Truckee River

Bare: A chairlift at the closed 'Homewood' ski area and snow bare slopes are pictured at Homewood, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Wednesday

No skiing: A 'Ski Resort Closed' sign is posted at a ski area after it closed early this year because of lack of snow at Alpine Meadows, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Wednesday

Drought tolerant garden: Designer Cassy Aoyagi talks about a drought-tolerant garden during a media preview at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California on Wednesday

Calfornia Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a 25 percent overall cutback in water use by cities and towns in the golden state on Wednesday but as these photos show, the ongoing drought is already taking its toll on once lush yards, emerald golf courses and aquamarine swimming pools

Aerial view overlooking landscaping in Rancho Santa Fe: California. Gov. Jerry Brown has demanded a 25 percent cut in urban water usage and everyone from golf courses and other industrial and recreational facilities, as well as personal, home usage are impacted

The crackdown comes as California and its nearly 40 million residents move toward a fourth summer of drought with no relief in sight

On Thursday, retired secretary Brenda Johnson stood in the doorway of her Sacramento home contemplating her lovingly tended lawn and azalea bushes. Johnson did not love the idea of brown as the new green.

'With the money I put into it, I don't want it to go dry,' said Johnson, who got a warning letter from the city last year for watering her front yard on the wrong day.

'I don't want a dead lawn,' she said. 'But change is hard, and you do adjust.'

In Southern California's sunbathed city of Long Beach, homeowner Katherine Rusconi stood among the bright red, pink and yellow succulents and desert plants that make up her front yard, basking in the knowledge of being ahead of the game.

The city of Long Beach gave her $3,000 in rebates for ripping out her own lawn less than two years ago. Some of her neighbors have since followed her lead, making the block a showpiece of water-saving, wildlife-friendly yards.

With so much of Southern California a desert climate, 'this should have been in place for some time,' Rusconi said of the restrictions.

Aerial view overlooking landscaping in San Diego, California. Everyone from Campuses, golf courses and other industrial and recreational facilities, as well as personal, home usage are specifically targeted by Gov. Brown's cut in water usage

Brown's move to get tough on water use came after his push for voluntary conservation yielded mixed results

Asked by Brown in January 2014 to cut their water consumption by 20 percent, Californians achieved only about half that

Brown's move to get tough on water use came after his push for voluntary conservation yielded mixed results. Asked by Brown in January 2014 to cut their water consumption by 20 percent, Californians achieved only about half that.

Affluent Southern California communities with lots of landscaping on automatic timers were some of the worst offenders, topping 300 gallons of water per person a day compared with 70 gallons for some San Francisco Bay Area communities.

State water officials will now draw up the emergency regulations to carry out the governor's order and hope to have them ready for enactment in May, said George Kostyrko, spokesman for the state Water Resources Control Board.

The governor's order requires the roughly 400 water agencies around the state to cut water use by one-quarter from the 2013 level. The state government is also ramping up a water conservation campaign that will include billboards and radio messages through the end of June.

Homeowners will get rebates for replacing lawns with greenery more suited to the semi-arid state and for installing more water-thrifty appliances and plumbing fixtures. The state also will press water agencies to impose higher, graduated rates to discourage water guzzling.

State water officials will now draw up the emergency regulations to carry out the governor's order and hope to have them ready for enactment in May

The governor's order requires the roughly 400 water agencies around the state to cut water use by one-quarter from the 2013 level

Cemeteries, golf courses and business headquarters must cut back significantly on watering the grass and shrubs. And new homes will not be allowed to use drinking water for irrigation unless they have water-stingy drip systems.

Homeowners and water districts that violate the rules will be subject to fines, but many of the enforcement details have yet to be worked out.

State water officials stress it's the lush, green blades of grass they are after.

'When it is all said and done, what we are asking is that they cut back dramatically on their outdoor watering,' Kostyrko said.

Californians should water enough to save their trees, water board head Felicia Marcus said, but should let their lawns go the way of all mortal things.

In Sacramento, Goud Chetan has already scalped his front lawn, leaving it bare dirt on Thursday. Chetan said he will lay down gravel and shrubs instead, though not necessarily to be a good citizen during the drought.

'Really it's about the water bill and saving money,' Chetan said.

The state government is also ramping up a water conservation campaign that will include billboards and radio messages through the end of June

Homeowners will get rebates for replacing lawns with greenery more suited to the semi-arid state and for installing more water-thrifty appliances and plumbing fixtures

Some water experts and economists are dubious the crackdown will succeed.

Californians will embrace saving water if they feel everyone is doing the same, water experts said. Brown's cutback order, however, exempts agriculture, which consumes 80 percent of all the water that Californians use.

'In times of scarcity, human nature is to do one's share if you think others are making similar sacrifices,' said Jonas Minton, a former senior state water official, now an adviser to the California-based Planning and Conservation League policy group. 'When it appears others are taking more than their share, it can be reduced to every person for themselves.'

But farmers have already done their part, fallowing land and paying more for water, said Shawn Stevenson, a farmer in California's agricultural heartland, the Central Valley.

Stevenson said he had to rip out nearly half his almond, pistachio and citrus trees.

'It's nice to know that some of our fellow state residents are going to share in the pain,' he said. 'Why they didn't do it last year, I don't know.'

Californians should water enough to save their trees, water board head Felicia Marcus said, but should let their lawns go the way of all mortal things