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Over the past five years, Californians have been trained to turn the faucet off when brushing their teeth, allow their lawns to turn dusty brown and keep their gardens alive using dishwater. These tactics, among others, allowed urban water users to reduce their average consumption by almost 25 percent in 2015. Those caught wasting water were publicly shamed by the media. The state’s almond industry, especially, has been vilified for its intensive use of California’s precious water.

Yumi Wong adores the latest addition to her southern California home: a lush, emerald lawn. “It just looks much nicer with all the green. It feels clean and peaceful,” she said on Tuesday, padding across the 2,800-sq-ft grass expanse. “I thought about artificial turf but I just wanted the real stuff back.” It arrived last week, a boon for her two children, two dogs and tortoise, and fitted right into Rancho Cucamonga, a neighbourhood east of Los Angeles. “Here nobody on the street has got rid of grass,” said Wong, 36, a physician’s assistant.

Poseidon Water came to terms with two state agencies and a regional water board to streamline the permitting process for a planned desalination plant in Huntington Beach, it was announced Oct. 13. The joint agreement included Poseidon Water, California Coastal Commission, California State Lands Commission and the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. A statement released by Poseidon claimed the joint agreement would “clearly define the remaining permitting process.” Changes to and clarification of the permitting process should help Poseidon proceed with its Coastal Development Permit, or CDP.

Even with the presidential race tightening, one issue in a drought-parched region of California has remained constant — water and the lack of it. “Water right now is the number one issue for us in the Central Valley,” said Republican Rep. David Valadao, whose congressional district includes some of the state’s largest agricultural production but has been hit hard by the 5-year-old drought.The drought impact goes beyond agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley. Water tables in rural communities in parts of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties have dropped and residential wells are running dry.

No matter who wins the White House Tuesday, the next president’s administration will likely immediately face a pressing issue that gets very little national attention: What to do about the drying Colorado River that supplies water to millions of people in the American Southwest.