Drought Dries Up Water Resources For Bay Area Backyard Swimming Pools
SAN JOSE (CBS/AP) -- The backyard swimming pool is becoming the latest victim of the lingering California drought.
City and utility drought policies across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond are increasingly limiting how often pools can be filled and by how much -- and sometimes barring fill-ups entirely. Some residents are willingly removing their swimming pools.
Chris Burd, owner of Dig & Demo, said his company pulled out 150 pools in the past year.
Representatives of California's $5 billion pool industry say they haven't felt much of a hit from efforts to edge out the amenity.
A water company that serves most of San Jose and Silicon Valley suburbs has banned customers from filling new swimming pools and draining and refilling existing ones, with some exceptions. Violators can face fines of up to $500 a day.