Despite all of Monday's rain around SoCal, California's ongoing drought conditions haven't really improved. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced new plans to sign an executive order tightening water conservation rules, in order to address the state's desperate need for water.
California has reached the point of the executive order because only a fraction of those in the state have responded to Newsom's plea to voluntarily conserve water.
In response, the order aims to place pressure on the public and on urban water suppliers at the local level.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
The water suppliers must move to Level 2 of their drought contingency plans, and the California State Water Resources Control Board has been directed to consider banning the watering of decorative grass at businesses and institutions.
The decorative grass watering ban would not apply to parks, sports fields or schools.
All of the actions are in response to the drought.
The LADWP has already enacted a laundry list of restrictions. The Tier 2 regulations require all water suppliers to implement conservation measures to prepare for a 20% water shortage.
"Here we are in the third year of a severe drought," said Valley Water spokesman Matt Keller. "So it's serious, and people have to make changes."
The calls for mandatory water restrictions are increasing as the state continues encouraging all of us to conserve. The outreach includes a water conservation campaign on social media, and this website.
There, visitors will find lots of tips on how to cut back on water usage inside and outside the home. The messaging is aimed at increasing voluntary conservation as more aggressive conservation measures are enacted.
