You are now in California and the U.S. category.

Water providers throughout California said Wednesday they want to decide how much water their customers need to conserve during the ongoing drought rather than take orders from the state.

Californians remain under strict state conservation orders that have caused many residents to take shorter showers and let their lawns turn brown even as drought conditions ease.

The State Water Resources Control Board held an informational workshop in Sacramento to chart the future of urban water conservation measures. Regulators are considering if they should toss out the restrictions or dramatically change them.

California lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bill that would put a on hold Gov. Jerry Brown’s $15 billion water plan unless it gets approval from voters.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan would build massive, 30-mile-long twin tunnels underneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Last year, the state released a 48,000-page environmental impact report on the project. Critics and environmentalists obect to the plan, stating that it would not create more water for the drought-stricken state.

If you knew that the water you were about to drink was recycled, would you put it down? It’s clear, odor-free, and tastes just like water. C’mon take a taste. You won’t know the difference. Still, hesitant?

Hilary Godwin, professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, understands the “ick” factor associated with drinking recycled water. She co-authored a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health touting the health benefits of recycled water.

Never one to shy away from controversial water policy, Wolk, a Davis Democrat whose district formerly included Stockton, is pushing a bill that would require local agencies to place conditions on new well construction — in some cases, at least.

The state is already implementing new laws regulating the use of precious groundwater for the first time in California, but it will be decades before all regions of the state are required to reach sustainable levels of use.Wolk’s bill, which passed out of committee last week, is intended to speed up compliance.