The directive comes more than a year after Brown asked for a 20% voluntary cut in water use that most parts of the state have failed to attain, even as one of the most severe modern droughts drags into a fourth year. It also came on the day that water officials measured the lowest April 1 snowpack in more than 60 years of record-keeping in the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 
 
 Wearing hiking shoes and a windbreaker in an area that normally requires cross-country skis this time of year, Brown announced the executive order in a Sierra Nevada meadow that provided a dramatic illustration of the state's parched conditions. 
 
 
 
 "We're standing on dry grass," Brown said. "We should be standing on five feet of snow." 
 
 
 
 Emphasizing that the drought could persist, Brown said Californians must change their water habits. "It's a different world," he said. "We have to act differently." 
 
 
 
 The order focused on urban life even though agriculture accounts for roughly three quarters of Californians' water usage. Cities have to stop watering the median strips that run down the middle of roads. The state will partner with local agencies to remove 50 million square feet of grass — the equivalent of about 1,150 football fields — and replace it with drought-tolerant landscaping. 
 
 
 
 State agencies will create a temporary rebate program to encourage homeowners to replace water-guzzling appliances with high-efficiency ones. Golf courses, campuses and cemeteries must cut their water use. New developments will have to install drip or microspray systems if they irrigate with drinking water. Water agencies will discourage water waste with higher rates and fees. 
 
 
 
 The order aims to reduce the amount of water used statewide in urban areas in 2013 by 25%. 
 
 
 
 Some critics of Brown's order said it didn't do enough to address agricultural uses. Adam Scow, director of Food & Water Watch California, called the order disappointing. 
 
 
 
 "The governor must save our groundwater from depletion by directing the state water board to protect groundwater as a public resource," Scow said in a statement. 
 
 
 
 Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board, said the measure isn't about "finger-pointing"…"It's about everybody having to step up in these tough times." 
 
 
 
 The water board will release draft regulations in mid-April to implement the order. It plans to approve the regulations in early May. 
 
 
 
 Marcus said local agencies will receive targets for cutting water use based on how well they've done so far 
 
 
 
 Local agencies that have been slow to conserve since then will feel the order's effects most dramatically, Marcus said. 
 
 
 
 "You're rewarding the early adopters ... and you're saying to the laggers, 'You have to make a change,'" she said. 
 
 
 
 Most of the burden of enforcement will fall on local agencies. 
 
 
 
 If they don't follow the governor's order, the state can fine them as much as $10,000 a day. 
 
 
 
 Many Southern California agencies are already taking steps called for in Brown's order. For instance, under a turf rebate program administered by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, spokesman Bob Muir said homeowners are planning to remove almost 89 million square feet of turf, the equivalent of more than 59,000 frontyards. It's unclear whether Brown's mandate for 50 million square feet of lawn replacement includes work already done by local agencies. Similarly, Los Angeles already has a tiered water-rate structure to encourage conservation. 
 
 
 
 Although Southern California water managers said it might be tough for some cities to meet the 25% target, they welcomed Brown's action. 
 
 
 
 "It's the right time. It's a proper directive," said Rob Hunter, general manager of the Municipal Water District of Orange County. 
 
 
 
 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the executive order, noting that last year he called for a 20% cut in the city's water use by 2017. 
 
 
 
 In Long Beach, Water Department General Manager Kevin Wattier said the order would have the biggest effect on water districts that use much more water per capita than Long Beach and Los Angeles. 
 
 
 
 "The governor understands we don't have time to allow any voluntary measures to work," said Mark Gold of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. "This is such a growing crisis that mandatory conservation was absolutely necessary." 
 
 
 
 Lester Snow, executive director of the California Water Foundation and former state secretary of natural resources, said even more restrictions may be necessary in the future, such as banning all outdoor water use. "We're probably going to need more action before we're through the summer," he said. 
 
 
 
 Brown issued his order at Phillips Station, about 90 miles east of Sacramento, where state workers conducted a manual snow survey as part of statewide readings that revealed that the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack was only about 5% of the average for April 1. That is the lowest for the date in records going back to 1950. 
 
 
 
 The Sierra snowpack accounts for about 30% of the state's water supply, and although major reservoir storage is better than it was last year, there will be little snowmelt to replenish reservoirs this spring. 
 
 
 
 Nurit Katz, UCLA's Chief Sustainability Officer and co-chair of a UC system-wide water task force, said every campus has created a water action plan focused on reducing consumption. UCLA is installing artificial turf on its intramural field, retrofitting fixtures such as toilets and developing a smart water filtration system. 
 
 
 
 Combined with other efforts, the campus expects to save millions of gallons of water each year, she said. 
 
 
 
 Brown's order requires agricultural districts in depleted groundwater basins to share data on groundwater use with the state. 
 
 
 
 "The agricultural community is already being hit very hard," Marcus said. 
 
 
 
 For the second year in a row, Central Valley growers without senior water rights are likely to get no supplies from the valley's big federal irrigation project. Last year farmers idled about 500,000 acres for lack of water, and this year they may be forced to leave even more cropland unplanted. 
 
 
 
 "Some people want to say, 'What about the farmers?' And farmers want to say, 'What about those people watering their lawns?'" Brown said. "We all have something to do, and we can all do a little better." ||||| California drought: Gov. Jerry Brown urges 20% cuts Governor urges 20% cuts in usage, pledges to steer water where needed 
 
 Gov. Jerry Brown's drought declaration on Friday won't bring rain to a state parched by three dry years. But communities, farmers and firefighters wrestling with the lack of rainfall are welcoming the order as a chance to better capitalize on the state's limited water supplies. 
 
 Brown committed to using his executive powers to steer water where it's most needed, direct state agencies to immediately scale back water consumption and seek the help of the federal government in combatting what he called "the worst drought that California has ever seen since records (began) about 100 years ago." 
 
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 Perhaps more importantly, the governor called on Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent, a plea that water experts say has proved effective in past periods of dry weather. He noted that mandatory restrictions could be coming soon. 
 
 "This is a critical step for the state amid this crisis," said Timothy Quinn, executive director for the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents dozens of water districts statewide. "One of the most important things that you have to have happen is that people need to use less water, and there's nothing more powerful than a governor declaring an emergency." 
 
 The declaration, announced at a news conference at the governor's San Francisco office, comes as the state is gripped by its third straight year of below-average rainfall with little improvement expected. 
 
 Emergency steps in place 
 
 Rivers are running low. The snowpack is meager. And communities across California are worried about having sufficient water for homes, businesses and farmland. The dry weather also has increased the wildfire threat, with record acreage burning this month, including a 1,700-acre blaze that continues to char the hills above Los Angeles. 
 
 With the emergency declaration, Brown set in place 20 steps to deal with the drought. Water agencies will be able to share water more easily. State water managers will kick off a statewide conservation campaign. And additional firefighters will be hired to protect California's parched landscape. 
 
 The governor also said he will petition the federal government for assistance, which could take the form of monetary aid or helping with water transfers. 
 
 "We are in an unprecedented and very serious situation," Brown said, as he stood beside charts highlighting the deteriorating water situation. "It's important to awaken all Californians to the serious matter of drought and the lack of rain." 
 
 Friday's declaration is the third statewide drought declaration since 1987, the previous coming during the 2007-09 drought. 
 
 Lawmakers were generally pleased by the proclamation. 
 
 "This is a huge step forward in making sure we are using our water resources appropriately," said state Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, whose district includes parts of the Central Valley, where farmers have borne the brunt of the dry weather and pushed for the declaration. 
 
 Many in Sacramento said the drought should be a call to action for Californians about the need for a water bond. Lawmakers, citing low voter-approval numbers, have twice pulled an $11 billion water bond from the ballot that seeks a range of new projects, including partial funding for a major water-delivery upgrade in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. 
 
 Ballot measure discussed 
 
 Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, said it would be "irresponsible" to put the current water bond on the November ballot because it doesn't have the backing. But Perez said a more affordable bond should be negotiated. 
 
 The governor, when asked Friday about a water bond, said the state needed to improve its water infrastructure but stopped short of committing to a ballot measure. 
 
 This month, most of California has seen little or no rainfall. The dry spell follows a record-dry 2013 in much of the state, and climate models suggest rain will remain scant through April, setting up California for its third straight dry winter. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Sierra Nevada snowpack, vital to filling the state's sprawling system of reservoirs, measured just 17 percent of normal this week. 
 
 A few water agencies have imposed restrictions on consumers, while others - including some in the Bay Area - are asking for voluntary water reductions. Sacramento is the biggest community to enact requirements so far, ordering consumers Tuesday to scale back water use by 20 to 30 percent. 
 
 Few areas are threatened as much as the Central Valley, where farmers dependent on state and federal water allocations face among their lowest allotments in years. 
 
 "We're looking at just a huge amount of land going unplanted," said Gayle Holman, spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District, one of the nation's largest agricultural districts. "And I don't think we've seen the full effect of it yet." 
 
 Holman praised the governor's decision to declare a drought as an opportunity to streamline water transfers. She said she hopes it will lead to the easing of certain environmental rules, particularly limits that have been put on water diversion to protect salmon and delta smelt. 
 
 Federal support 
 
 Federal officials offered some support to the agricultural industry Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated as natural disaster areas 27 of California's 58 counties - along with portions of 10 other states - because of the drought, which means farmers can get emergency, low-interest loans. 
 
 Projections released Friday from the National Weather Service offer some hope of rain at the end of January, but forecasters note that it might not be enough to make up for lost ground.
– California Gov. Jerry Brown made history today, but not in a way he's happy about: He ordered the state's first-ever mandatory water restrictions amid a brutal drought, reports CBS Local. A slew of new rules will aim to curb water use by 25% over nine months. "It's a different world," said Brown. "We have to act differently." He emphasized the point by making the announcement from the Sierra Nevada on bare ground—at a spot that normally would be covered in several feet of snow this time of year. This year's Sierra snowpack is about 5% of the state average, the lowest since record-keeping began in 1950, meaning it won't be able to provide needed runoff in the spring and summer, reports the Los Angeles Times. Among other things, the state will team with local governments to replace 50 million square feet of lawn with more drought-tolerant landscaping; golf courses and cemeteries will have to scrimp on watering; and residents and farmers will be encouraged through rebates, new pricing models, and penalties to install more efficient systems. If it all works, the savings would amount to 1.5 million acre-feet of water by the end of the year. “This is sort of unchartered territory,” says a spokesperson for the state Department of Water Resources. It's "dismal."