California is currently in the midst of a severe drought. The drought of this proportion has not been seen in California for twelve hundred years and there seems to be no end in sight. This paper will discuss the factors linked to the cause of the drought and the impact of the drought that is felt by the environment and humans. Finally, the process of lobbying the issue to a council member is described.
Summary of the Issue.
On April 1st, 2105, Gov. Jerry Brown imposed mandatory water restrictions on residents, businesses and farms. The restrictions orders towns and cities to cut water usage by twenty-five percent. Agricultural industry has been exempt from these restrictions (Sanchez, 2015). These restrictions come in the wake of record low snowpack's of Sierra Nevada, which is a massive water source for California in the summer. Gov. Brown's executive order states: significant water reduction on campuses, cemeteries, golf-courses and landscapes, 'drought tolerant landscaping' to replace fifty-million square-feet of lawn, creation of a state wide consumer rebate programs for replacing older appliances with water efficient model, new homes and developments prohibited to use potable water irrigation unless water-efficient drip irrigation is utilized, watering of ornamental grass on public street median banned, and requirement of the agricultural industry to report the information on the use of groundwater (Sanchez, 2015). .
State of emergency has been declared in California and in light of the crisis, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a one billion dollar emergency legislation to deal with the severe drought. The legislation will consist of two bills that will fasten the process of contracting funds to manage the drought (Meeks, 2015). Meanwhile, surface water and groundwater are being exhausted at maximum capacity as the drought worsens. .
Scope of the Issue and Importance.
California's drought has been labeled severe as it is in its fourth year.