Winter storms may be luring many Californians to relax about the drought, but on Tuesday, state officials sent a message that the drought is far from over.
They voted to extend the state’s mandatory water conservation rules through October; the rules were set to expire this month. Under them, water districts have to cut back water use from 4-to-36 percent.
“It’s only half-time in this rainy season and we don’t know what’s coming next,” said Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board.
About 40 percent of the state’s water districts are already failing to meet their conservation targets. Many have been lobbying the water board for more leeway going forward, asking for a lower targets for districts in inland areas or for those with large local water supplies.
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