The Day Juan Always Knew Would Come Has Actually Come (Drought Edition)

Governor Jerry Brown has imposed a mandatory 25% reduction in water via an executive order he signed into effect earlier this week, and no, it is not an April Fool's Day joke. California is now in its 4th year of drought --sliding very quickly into year 5 -- and the voluntary reductions of 20% that the Governor asked Californians to make last January were insufficient, as reported by the New York Times.

It's now up to the State Water Resources Board to impose and enforce compliance.

I've heard people say that they can't reduce their water further. Have they been taking bucket baths? No? Then no, you haven't done enough to reduce your water usage. I heard one person announce in front of Council that she had already done that and was stressed out about how she'd reduce further. She had my 100% empathy. I was so glad she told us she was doing that because maybe it made it more socially acceptable to take bucket baths too.

Out in Claremont, residents voted affirmatively to take steps to control their own water future. The topic of water is of great interest to my father-in-law. Every time I opened the Claremont Courier (admittedly, not that often but still, more often than someone who lives 47 miles away), there were stories and op-eds about water. Claremonters are very worried about their water.

You can check out this song written my by friend Stacey. She and her band sing about the drought and Uncle Jerry.