Named and shamed: Californians blast each other for water-wasting on social media as drought-ridden state's battle over scarce resources turns nasty

  • Residents in California are tattling on water-wasting neighbors on various drought shaming websites and social media
  • From leaky sprinklers, watering parking lots and lawns, residents are outting each other for water-wasting activity
  • State also launched a website where residents can tattle on water wasters
  • Residents are sharing pictures and videos of neighbors wasting water amid restrictions on water use during historic drought 

By Myriah Towner For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:39 EST, 1 August 2015 | Updated: 17:46 EST, 1 August 2015

Californians are taking to drought shaming sites to tattle on each other for wasting water.

Residents are using the sites to out each other for reasons including neighbors with leaky sprinklers to waiters who serve water without asking as the state's historic drought continues.

The tattling has also reached social media where residents are using the hashtags 'droughtshaming' and 'watershaming' to reveal any water-wasting activities. 

An app called DroughtShame was even developed to 'capture geotagged photo proof of disregard for California's water restrictions'.

Scroll down for video 

Californians are taking to drought shaming sites to tattle on each other for wasting water

Californians are taking to drought shaming sites to tattle on each other for wasting water

Residents are using the sites to out each other for reasons including neighbors with leaky sprinklers to waiters who serve water without asking as the state's historic drought continues
While some residents find the drought shaming vindictive, the city said the competition is helping reduce water waste

Residents are using the sites to out each other for reasons including neighbors with leaky sprinklers to waiters who serve water without asking as the state's historic drought continues (residents share pictures, shown above, of neighbors wasting water on civic networking site, Vizsafe)

The tattling has also reached social media where residents are using the hashtag 'droughtshaming' and 'watershaming' to reveal any water-wasting activity

The tattling has also reached social media where residents are using the hashtag 'droughtshaming' and 'watershaming' to reveal any water-wasting activity

On Thursday, the state launched a website on, www.savewater.ca.gov, where residents can send details and photos of water waste.

Complaints are then sent to local government agencies based on the address of the offense. As of Saturday, the site appeared to be down.

More than 300 agencies have signed up to see the details of water waste tips. Many local agencies already had their own reporting sites. 

California has multiple restrictions on water use, including banning washing cars with hoses that don't shut off and restricting lawn-watering within two days of rainfall. But enforcement varies widely across the parched state. 

In April, California adopted rules for mandatory cutbacks in urban water use, forcing cities to limit watering on public property, encourage homeowners to let their lawns die and impose mandatory water-savings targets for the hundreds of local agencies and cities that supply California customers.

On drought shaming sites and social media, residents across the state have been posting pictures and video of neighbors and businesses wasting water.

One user wrote a caption alongside a picture of an employee at Goodwill washing a parking lot that read: '#goodwill in #MDR washing parking lot for some annoying reason. #drought #droughtshaming #savewater #wtf #cadrought.'

One user posted this picture to Twitter with the caption that read: '#goodwill in #MDR washing parking lot for some annoying reason. #drought #droughtshaming #savewater #wtf #cadrought'

One user posted this picture to Twitter with the caption that read: '#goodwill in #MDR washing parking lot for some annoying reason. #drought #droughtshaming #savewater #wtf #cadrought'

On the civic networking site Vizsafe, a resident shared a picture of a neighbor saying that he waters his 'dirt' twice a day and that rent went up $100 a day as a result

On the civic networking site Vizsafe, a resident shared a picture of a neighbor saying that he waters his 'dirt' twice a day and that rent went up $100 a day as a result

'LA you make me so mad :/ #drought #DROUGHTSHAMING #CaliforniaDrought #losangeles,' a caption with the picture of this residential sidewalk said

'LA you make me so mad :/ #drought #DROUGHTSHAMING #CaliforniaDrought #losangeles,' a caption with the picture of this residential sidewalk said

On DroughtShame's Twitter account, it shared picture of sprinklers running during the night at a home in North Hollywood.

'Running for >30 mins, this place can officially charge admission as a water park. #droughtshaming #NorthHollywood,' the tweet read.

A resident shared a video of a neighbor on the civic networking site, Vizsafe, with a message that said: 'My neighbor (person in video) waters the grass everyday or other day morning or noon for about 30mins.'

Governor Jerry Brown sought the more stringent regulations, arguing that voluntary conservation efforts have so far not yielded the water savings needed amid a four-year drought.

An app called DroughtShame (left) was even developed to 'capture geotagged photo proof of disregard for California's water restrictions'
On the app's Twitter account, it shared a photograph (right) and said what appears to be a leak has been seen repeatedly

An app called DroughtShame (left) was even developed to 'capture geotagged photo proof of disregard for California's water restrictions'. On the app's Twitter account, it shared a photograph (right) and said what appears to be a leak has been seen repeatedly

'Grass is squishy it's so wet. Isn't there a water restriction? #watershaming,' a user wrote with the picture above

'Grass is squishy it's so wet. Isn't there a water restriction? #watershaming,' a user wrote with the picture above

He ordered water agencies to cut urban water use by 25 per cent from levels in 2013, the year before he declared a drought emergency.

The water use in California in June fell by 27 per cent, passing the conservation target that was set by Governor Brown, CBS reported. 

Terrance Davis of the Sacramento Department of Utilities said that complaints of water wasting has gone up exponentially from the last two years, according to KOVR.

While some residents find the drought shaming vindictive, the city said the competition is helping reduce water waste.

From January to June, Sacramento received more than 8,000 calls to its water-use complaint line.

'Obviously we can't see everything, can't be everywhere so having people in the community helping us out—residents, neighbors—reporting those types of things is a great tool for us too,' Davis said.

Governor Jerry Brown sought the more stringent regulations, arguing that voluntary conservation efforts have so far not yielded the water savings needed amid a four-year drought

Governor Jerry Brown sought the more stringent regulations, arguing that voluntary conservation efforts have so far not yielded the water savings needed amid a four-year drought

A user shared the photo above and wrote sarcastically saying the residents at that address had not heard about the drought. While some residents find the drought shaming vindictive, the city said the competition is helping reduce water waste

A user shared the photo above and wrote sarcastically saying the residents at that address had not heard about the drought. While some residents find the drought shaming vindictive, the city said the competition is helping reduce water waste

At a Walmart in California, a resident spotted water spewing from the curb in a parking lot and shared the photo on Twitter with the hashtagh 'droughtshaming'

At a Walmart in California, a resident spotted water spewing from the curb in a parking lot and shared the photo on Twitter with the hashtagh 'droughtshaming'

Comments (392)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now