Reducing water usage is step one in the Kabuki Two-Step. When water usage drops off, rate will rise to compensate the utilities for their loss of income. Those that snitch will not be able to make the Cause-Effect linkage and blame it on the “greedy” utilities while the politicians sneak out the back door.
I have cut back to near minimum over the past few years.
No garden, water a few flower pots by hand.
Keep wind break / shade trees alive as necessity in Mojave Desert.
Now I am supposed to cut 20% more. Maybe I’ll help Gov. Brown
(get it: namesake=Brown) by saving my pee for his lawn.
Meanwhile, Agriculture is sucking our precious, limited aquifer for pistasios. They don’t care if the supply goes brackish; the trees love it, and they can buy up resulting distressed land for very cheap.
County doesn’t care. Ag business is GOOD, tax revenue is GOOD. (Decreasing land value hasn’t registered in their bird brain yet.)