California Has Major Drinking Issues
The state needs more aggressive pricing to manage its water supply
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California has at least an additional five months of drought ahead, U.S. forecasters estimate, putting new pressure on everyone to conserve already stretched water supplies. While farms use 80 percent of the state’s water—and it’s essential that they cut back—cities and towns have to do their share.
The good news is that officials already know how to get people to use less water. The bad news is that too few of them have acted aggressively enough. If the drought ends before they do take action (forecasters say wet El Niño weather could return next winter), the problems will only be worse during the next shortage.