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

Despite last weekend’s rainstorms, California is still faced with a serious drought. So it’s perhaps not surprising that state regulators are talking about ways to return to state-mandated conservation targets and preparing for even stricter measures. Regulators are planning to roll out California’s first-ever water budgets — budgets for each district’s allowable supply. The long-range requirements will require permanent adjustments to new water efficiency measures — and a shift in the way each Californian lives.

 

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) offered turf rebates like many other water suppliers, but it ended up funding one company that, according to many observers, left only gravel wastelands in its wake. The turf removal company known as Turf Terminators has been surrounded with controversy for some time, with a groundswell of area residents disapproving of their methods and others accusing the company of bribing the Los Angeles mayor. The company originally started as an environmentally focused investment startup called Carbon Venture Partners.

Over the past 100 years, this arid region of Central Washington has undergone a stunning transformation. Engineers and farmers have captured the annual mountain snowmelt and used it to change the sagebrush steppe into an agricultural Eden of tree fruits, mint, hay, and corn​. Rows of green crops adorn a once-parched landscape. Reservoirs funnel water to farms and turn massive turbines that spirit electricity to far-off coastal cities. And Central Washington has become an apple basket for the world. ​Charlie de la Chapelle has lived the story of this water-borne agrarian bounty.

We’re facing a crisis that’s been building for a long time. Even within in the U.S., problems abound. Here in Baltimore, we’ve been dealing with the consequences for over a decade! But fear not! There is a solution. All you have to do is shut down your pipes. You’ll have to drink, cook, and bathe with bottled water. And as an extra precaution, you’ll need to rip up your yard and replace it with gravel. For the good of the world, you understand.