Californians’ water usage has only dropped 5 percent in drought emergency

Drought and watering restrictions lead to dead lawns near Sacramento. (Credit: Kevin Cortopassi, via Flickr)

Since a drought emergency was declared in California, residents of the state haven’t cut back much on using water, according to the New York Times. Water consumption has only gone down 5 percent.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared the emergency in January, asking Californians to reduce their usage by 20 percent. In the months since, residents haven’t reduced their water usage but have started telling on neighbors who are using too much.

In Sacramento, 6,000 reports of water waste have been made in 2014, 20 times the number of reports in 2013. On social media, Californians are also sharing pictures of people wasting water in efforts to shame them into using less.

Image: Drought and watering restrictions lead to dead lawns near Sacramento. (Credit: Kevin Cortopassi, via Flickr)