As of July 22, every square mile of the state of California was classified as having “severe drought” status. Furthermore, some 82% was classified as “extreme” and even 36% was classified as “exceptional”. In other words, California is dry … really dry. That’s right, the liberal-leaning Golden State is actually looking redder than the audience at a Travis Tritt concert.
Given that California was already struggling to conserve water, this summer’s drought has forced some more serious action by legislators. Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill prohibiting cities, counties and homeowner’s associations (HOAs) from fining people who stop watering their lawns (original story). So, for now at least, lush green lawns are out, and rough brown lawns are in—at least for those who decide they’d rather not pay the enourmous water bills to keep their lawns healthy.