During the State of the State speech, California governor Jerry Brown officially declared California to be in an emergency drought. The governor stated, “We do not know how much our current problem derives from the build up of heart trapping gasses, but we can take this drought as a stark warning of things to come.”

With the worst drought in over a hundred years being said to only be a warning for worse to come is very alarming. Two-thirds of the state of California is already dealing with extreme drought conditions.

Besides, although everyone is in a panic about the drought, no one is more nervous about it than California growers. Agriculture consumes about 80% of the clean water used in California and a drought at this magnitude is bound to affect the crops.

Jerry Brown announced for the people of California to reduce their water intake by 20% before water restrictions become mandatory. If California does not receive rainfall by March, water restrictions will come into effect.

Ways to conserve water are to:

Use brooms to clean driveways, sidewalks, or patios instead of a hose. It can save up to 20 gallons a minute.

Cutting shower times down to 5 minutes can save anywhere from 12 to 25 gallons.

Replacing outdated toilets with high efficiency models can save up to 40 gallons a day.