--- title: #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water? | TIME description: There are three major consumers of the state’s water supply: urban consumers, big agriculture, and the environment. canonical: https://time.com/video/1x3DeuzL/ og:title: #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water? og:description: There are three major consumers of the state’s water supply: urban consumers, big agriculture, and the environment. og:url: https://time.com/video/1x3DeuzL/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1x3DeuzL/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water? twitter:description: There are three major consumers of the state’s water supply: urban consumers, big agriculture, and the environment. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1x3DeuzL/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water? [Watch (HLS stream): #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1x3DeuzL.m3u8) (2:56)  _Published 2015-04-10. There are three major consumers of the state’s water supply: urban consumers, big agriculture, and the environment._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:09 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [#TheBrief: Assisted Suicide After the Age of Kevorkian](/video/1W2ZR0Gu/) ### #TheBrief: Assisted Suicide After the Age of Kevorkian [#TheBrief: Watch How the CDC is Changing Its Ebola Protocol](/video/ftEB8sve/) ### #TheBrief: Watch How the CDC is Changing Its Ebola Protocol [Urban Environment](/video/1XVwnpEN/) ### Urban Environment --- ## Transcript California is stuck in one of the worst droughts in its history. The state isn't completely out of water, but it is using far more than it can replenish. So where is it all going? I'm Ben Goldberger, and this is your brief. I'm issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reduction across our state. That was California Governor Jerry Brown issuing a 25 % reduction in water use. Those are the first mandatory restrictions since the current drought began four years ago. The cuts will hit the three major consumers of the state's water. The first are urban residents. California is the nation's most populous state. With some 38. 8 million residents. That's an amount that's more than double since 1960. And the things they're being asked to cut back on? It's gonna affect golf courses people's lawns universities, campuses. All sorts of institutions. Take a look at the Palm Springs area. It's got lush green lawns. Sprawling golf courses. And all of it, in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. And its per capita water use is 201 gallons per day. That more than double the state's average. Brown's new rules calls for residents to trade their green lawns for native. Plants. And provides incentives for installing things like low- flow toilets. [ MUSIC ] But urban consumption only accounts for less than 10 % of California's water use. So even if residents were to cut down by 25 %, that would only save 2 % across the entire state. [ MUSIC ] So who consumes the rest of the water? Well, big apiculture. If the Midwest is Americas bread basket California is it's fruit bowl. The Golden State produces 99 % of the countries almonds, 92 % of the nations strawberries, and 90 % of it's tomatoes and that means California's 9 million acres of farmland suck up the bulk of it's water. Although the $ 46 billion agriculture industry only makes up two percent of the state's economy. It accounts for a whooping 80 % of California's human water use. But Brown's new rules don't include restrictions for farmers, who say they've already made efforts to curb their. Their water gives. And they argue that the real culprit is environmental conservation. Here's why. California's Department of Water Resources says nearly 50 % of the state's water is used to preserve rivers, wetlands, and wildlife refuges. However you divide the pie, it's clear that it's getting smaller. And the state's ongoing water crisis could force a real lifestyle change for millions of Californians. I'm Ben Goldberger. 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