Water Police Aren't Looking To Punish Consumers Despite Social Media Posts, Official Says

SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA) — California's drought conditions might not be as severe as they used to be, but Gov. Jerry Brown isn't taking any chances.

He recently signed legislation making water restrictions throughout the state permanent. Some say that makes sense.

"I mean, I'm not happy about it, but it's a good idea," homeowner Pat Bowser said.

"I don't think they should put penalties on it, but I think they need to get out, start encouraging people to start doing things that are necessary," Robert Bowser said.

But others are worried about just how much they'll be forced to conserve. There are erroneous social media posts claiming Californians won't be able shower and do laundry on the same day and that they could be fined $1,000 a day for using too much.

"I don't mind cutting back on water, but I hope they don't make it so it's going to be impossible to live life normally," homeowner Janet Torres said.

The head of the Inland Empire utilities agency says there's no reason to panic. She says most people are already below the 55 gallon per-person per-day limit the governor has set as a goal for 2025.

"In totality, we are doing fine within the region right now," Halla Razak said. "People should just continue doing what they've been doing."

She says that as technology improves and appliances become more efficient, daily usage should go down even more. If not, it'll be water agencies who face fines, not individual consumers. But she doesn't think it'll come to that.

"We have many years, we'll have a lot more communication, we'll come up with more programs," Razak said.