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I'm not sure why you're being downvoted, but I saw the same thing in Palo Alto earlier this year. I walked through the neighborhood and twice saw hoses left on

I'm not sure why you're being downvoted, but I saw the same thing in Palo Alto earlier this year. I walked through the neighborhood and twice saw hoses left on leaking water on the home's front walkway. That doesn't count the 10-20 sprinklers that were running mid-day. I understand that personal use is nothing compared to agricultural use, but it's as if everyone will continue business as usual until all the water is gone, and then it feels like "shrug oh well guess we'll move".

buckbova 11y ago
> it's as if everyone will continue business as usual until all the water is gone This has happened before and in the past the state made a big deal about it and everyone panicked. But before we ran out of water, the biggest deluge of water hit California in decades and the populous prayed for sun instead.
lbaskin 11y ago
Interesting. Very different from Israel, which is in a part of the world that has long suffered from chronic droughts - the culture is very much that water needs to be preserved and not wasted (e.g., by taking long showers, etc). And I would say this is true even after Israel "beat" the drought with desalination plants (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-...).
russell_h 11y ago
Rationally, what is anyone supposed to do? In March people were claiming the state had 12 months of water remaining. Lets assume that number is holding and we've got about 7 months of water left. If the entire state simply halted all urban and industrial water use, that would buy about 3 extra weeks before the state runs out of water. And that is in a scenario where 40 million people (and all non-ag industry) simply cease to consume water at all. Not washing cars or watering lawns is a great emotional gesture, but nothing short of real policy or weather changes will make any meaningful difference.
- thrownaway2424 11y ago
  Water doesn't work that way. Shutting off urban water supplies would not increase the supply available to growers, and the other way around, too. Growers can run out of water (delivered by the CWP/SWP) while cities (which each have their own water systems) might be set for years.
s73v3r 11y ago
Probably because those of us who do live here have seen it.

buckbova 11y ago

> it's as if everyone will continue business as usual until all the water is gone This has happened before and in the past the state made a big deal about it and everyone panicked. But before we ran out of water, the biggest deluge of water hit California in decades and the populous prayed for sun instead.

lbaskin 11y ago

Interesting. Very different from Israel, which is in a part of the world that has long suffered from chronic droughts - the culture is very much that water needs to be preserved and not wasted (e.g., by taking long showers, etc). And I would say this is true even after Israel "beat" the drought with desalination plants (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-...).

russell_h 11y ago

Rationally, what is anyone supposed to do? In March people were claiming the state had 12 months of water remaining. Lets assume that number is holding and we've got about 7 months of water left. If the entire state simply halted all urban and industrial water use, that would buy about 3 extra weeks before the state runs out of water. And that is in a scenario where 40 million people (and all non-ag industry) simply cease to consume water at all. Not washing cars or watering lawns is a great emotional gesture, but nothing short of real policy or weather changes will make any meaningful difference.

thrownaway2424 11y ago
Water doesn't work that way. Shutting off urban water supplies would not increase the supply available to growers, and the other way around, too. Growers can run out of water (delivered by the CWP/SWP) while cities (which each have their own water systems) might be set for years.

s73v3r 11y ago

Probably because those of us who do live here have seen it.