California moves to kill the lawn, save the water

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- What's it going to take to get people to use a lot less water in drought-stricken California, the Technicolor landscape of lush yards, emerald golf courses and aquamarine swimming pools?

The state may be about to find out as it imposes the first mandatory water-use restrictions in California history later this year.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered a 25 percent cutback in water use by cities and towns, but not farms, in the most sweeping drought measures ever undertaken by the state.

The crackdown comes as California moves toward its fourth summer of drought with no relief in sight. Record low snowfall over the winter has left the state of nearly 40 million people with a year's worth of water in its reservoirs and dwindling groundwater for wells.

On Thursday, retired secretary Brenda Johnson stood in the doorway of her Sacramento home, contemplating her lovingly tended lawn and azalea bushes.

"With the money I put into it, I don't want it to go dry," said Johnson, who got a warning letter from the city last year for watering her front yard on the wrong day.

"I don't want a dead lawn," she said. "But change is hard, and you do adjust."

In Southern California's sunbathed city of Long Beach, homeowner Katherine Rusconi stood among the succulents and desert plants that make up her front yard, basking in the knowledge of being ahead of the game.

The city of Long Beach gave her $3,000 in rebates for ripping out her own lawn less than two years ago.