Not many people realize the devastating drought that California is experiencing. The drought has affected all reservoirs in the California area affects all residents living in the state. Not only is it drying up reservoirs but the hydroelectric dams that are implanted in dams to help create power are not creating the reasonable amount of energy they should normally be producing. Thus creating another problem that the drought has brought upon Californians. In the past 6 months only 10%, which is half the original amount, of California's electricity was contributed from this source. I feel that more people need to donate their time and effort to the cause by implementing water saving Technics into their lives. I often find my friends taking long showers and remind them by yelling, "WE ARE IN A DROUGHT!" It gives them the feeling of guilt and immediately they begin to hurry up. I turn the water off and on during the duration of time (5 minutes) that I take a shower because It does not need to remain on when I am washing my body or shampooing/conditioning my hair. Little thi ngs such as this can contribute to saving the water. Even though we are going to have a torrential rainfall this year in Oakland, the public still needs to realize that we have a long way to go in replenishing our reservoirs.

As a native Californian, I know exactly how frustrating it is. I see many people watering their lawns in the middle of the day, or hearing about how my friends take 30 minute showers without ever stopping the water. People need to see how bad this is. I think it would be a good idea for cities to have a curfew on water. They should turn off the water from maybe 11:30 PM to 5:00 AM. I do not know any people who use water during that time of the night. its a good way to conserve water and give California more time to replenish our water source.

I am not  living in California though I used to live there as a baby.  Though you would know most I think turning off and on water also wastes the water. I mean its like turning off your car and 5 minutes later turning it on again it wastes gas but also it wastes time. I understand trying to conserve the water but turning it off and on is wasting it.

I completely agree with you Sophia. I think that the drought is both important and relevant, especially to those of us living in California. As I learned from my AP environmental science class last year, the depletion of water is much greater than many people suspect, because some California farmers are tapping into aquifers as a water source for irrigation. This is not sustainable, because these aquifers, that have been holding water for thousands of years, will only sustain agriculture for an insubstantial amount of time before farmers must begin to look elsewhere for a water source.

Like you, I have been trying to limit my shower time. Other great ways to conserve water that my family has yet to implement are installing low flow toilets and planting drought-resistant, native plants in our yard to replace our water-intensive lawn.

Summer: again, I don't see your reasoning behind your idea that turning the water off and on again doesn't save water. Unlike a car, a shower only has two modes: on and off. When it is on, it using water, and when it is off, it is not. The method described by Sophia is known as a Navy Shower, and is a very common water saving technique (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower).

The drought that California is experiencing is undoubtedly severe, but unfortunately, I don't think that many Californians realize it. Water is still pumping out of everyone's faucets normally, and I may be wrong, but I believe water bills have not increased significantly. Until we begin to start becoming inconvenienced in everyday life by this drought, I think it will be difficult to address it. However, it is still a good idea to advocate for and practice water saving techniques.