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

California’s decision to let local entities regulate how much water people use has residents hoping their bills will get a little more manageable and their yards a little less ugly. Lee Nguyen, a 64-year-old retiree in Irvine, believes she has done her part to help in the five-year drought. She has swapped out the grass on her front lawn with local native plants and cactus to cut down on water use. She’s also started catching rainwater for her garden to stretch the savings even further.

A state water agency on Tuesday proposed a Northern California man pay $4.6 million in fines and restore wetlands he allegedly damaged while trying to build a kite-surfing hub and revive a duck hunting club in a small island northeast of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board said John Sweeney and his Point Buckler Club filled and degraded more than 29 acres of tidal wetlands on the 51-acre Point Buckler Island located in Solano County’s Suisun Marsh.

Agricultural demand for recycled water is increasing along with the ability to supply it. But water experts say competition for access to the resource is rising—and say they’re unsure what the growing demand may mean for prices.

State water officials plan a survey of recycled water use in coming months—the first since 2009, when they estimated use of recycled water at 700,000 acre-feet. Results from the new survey could come early next year.

California is getting ready to enter the hottest and driest months of the year, but it’s armed this year, at least, with a rainy season that resulted in nearly average precipitation for parts of the state. The largest reservoirs in Northern California are brimming, and urban water suppliers will be getting something of a reprieve on statewide mandatory conservation requirements.

About 90 percent of the state still suffers from some kind of drought conditions, though, and many experts suggest it will take two or three consecutive winters like the most recent to snap California’s drought.

Long considered an ally of Delta advocates, U.S. Rep. John Garamendi introduced legislation this week that appears likely to test that reputation.Garamendi, a Democrat who lives in Walnut Grove and represents the north Delta, sent to the House of Representatives a drought bill that he said is identical to legislation already brought to the Senate by fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein.The lengthy Feinstein bill contains $1.3 billion worth of long-term solutions for future water shortages, including dams, desalination and water recycling projects.