Is California’s drought turning us against each other?
It might be, according to a new poll that finds most Californians don’t believe people in their region are doing enough to conserve water.
Rather than coveting thy neighbor’s lawn, two-thirds of Californians are starting to resent those verdant swards of sod, the Public Policy Institute of California found.
The survey found 66 percent of adults say the regional water supply is a big problem, while the same percentage believes people in their part of the state aren’t cutting back enough. It’s an opinion shared by majorities in every region, political party, racial and ethnic group, and educational and income level.
And the future isn’t looking bright — or moist — to most Californians either: Asked about the water supply in their area a decade from now, 69 percent expect it to be somewhat inadequate (26 percent) or very inadequate (43 percent).
“Not only are people recognizing this is an immediate problem, but they’re now at the point of realizing it’s going to be a long-term problem,” said PPIC President and CEO Mark Baldassare. “The length and the severity of this drought have led to a different mindset.”
Cathy Ferrato, of San Jose, got so ticked off this week when she saw an apartment complex on Payne Avenue watering its ivy and lawns that she drove into the complex to berate the manager. But the office was closed.
“Everyone knows you don’t need to water ivy,” said Ferrato, a stay-at-home mother of two. “I just think it’s really selfish. I feel everyone else is doing their part, and then I see that green lawn that stands out.”
Ferrato, 47, said California’s last huge drought in the late ’70s made such an impression on her as a child that she’s very sensitive to the state’s water plight now and has been policing the duration of her children’s showers. “It’s really important that people pay attention,” she said.
Baldassare said “that’s what life in California is going to be like now — people looking at what’s going on around them and wondering how it’s going to impact them not just now but in the long term.”
On Wednesday, the state Senate Budget Committee approved a $1 billion proposal to speed spending on water and flood-control projects. Funding for immediate drought relief and expedited infrastructure spending received unanimous support, while a separate measure authorizing fines for illegal diversions of water was passed over Republican objections.
In January 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown asked for water agencies and residents to aim for 20 percent reductions in water use, but the state hasn’t come close to meeting that mark. With California’s fourth summer of drought fast approaching, the State Water Resources Control Board last week banned Californians from watering lawns and landscaping with potable water within 48 hours after measurable rainfall. It also required cities, counties and water districts to limit lawn watering to twice a week — unless they’re already limiting it to three or more days, in which case they can stick with the higher limit.
Not all Californians think their neighbors are blowing it.
Charles Konigsberg of Oakland said he and his wife have “cut back more than 50 percent” on water use in recent months by reducing their garden watering and using less inside the house. And he’s proud that neighbors on his Montclair District cul-de-sac are doing likewise.
“This is a serious issue, and we all need to take it to heart,” said Konigsberg, 83, a former horticulture teacher at Merritt College in Oakland and Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.
The PPIC poll of 1,706 California adults was conducted March 8 through March 17. The margins of error are plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for all adults and 4.7 percentage points for the 1,064 likely voters.
The poll also found Californians are evenly split three ways on whether the condition of their roads, highways and bridges is a big problem, somewhat of a problem, or no problem. But while 53 percent of adults say spending more to maintain this infrastructure is very important for the state’s future, only 18 percent favor increasing the state’s gas tax. Twenty-three percent favor increasing the vehicle registration fee, and 47 percent favor borrowing the money by issuing bonds that would be paid off from the state’s general fund.
Californians are split on the high-speed rail project championed by Brown. When read a brief description of it and its costs, 47 percent of adults favored it and 48 percent opposed it. When asked how they would feel if it cost less, support increased to 64 percent. But only 28 percent now say high-speed rail is very important for the state’s future quality of life and economic strength, down from 35 percent a year ago.
Californians are less worried about the state budget now than at any time since May 2007, and the poll found 48 percent of likely voters favor extending the Proposition 30 income and sales tax increases beyond 2018. However, only 32 percent of likely voters favor making the tax hikes permanent.
The poll found Brown’s job approval rating is 55 percent among adults and — down from a record high in January, but higher than a year ago.
President Barack Obama’s approval rating among adults matches the governor’s, but disapproval of his job performance is higher, at 41 percent.
Josh Richman covers politics. Follow him at Twitter.com/Josh_Richman. Read the Political Blotter at IBAbuzz.com/politics.
