Governor Brown has authored a first-time-ever executive order mandating a 25 percent statewide reduction in water use.

Brown says he’s forcing counties, cities, golf courses, cemeteries, and college campus to drastically reduce their use of water to save 1.5 million acre-feet of the resource over the next nine months.

“As Californians, we have to save water in every way that we possibly can and we have to pull together,” Brown said.

Brown is calling on the state’s 400 water management agencies to decide how exactly to cut back. The action also creates a rebate program to help people replace inefficient appliances.

The California Water Service says its Bakersfield customers will likely not notice any significant impacts stemming from Brown’s declaration. District manager Rudy Valles says his organization, which provides water for a third of the city, is already doing several of the things outlined by Brown.

“We’re already doing tiered rates – we’ve been doing that for a number of years – and we’ve been promoting conservation on our website,” Valles said.

He does say agency customers will not be able to water their lawns as frequently.

– Anthony Pollreisz