Just what is that 7 letter word? Drought! To Californians this is an all too familiar subject. We hear in the news about water shortages and new stricter laws that are put into place to restrict water usage. Many of us who have grown accustomed to using water freely to water our lawns, wash our cars and fill our pools find it difficult to make the transition to becoming a "water minimalist." Of course, when that outrageously high water bill comes in, the usage starts to go down.
Is the water shortage anything more than an increased water bill? Drought actually affects real estate in many more ways. Have you ever made the drive on 5 to and from Los Angeles? I recall a few years ago seeing many signs about water posted alongside the road where dead tree after dead tree stand on previously flourishing farms. Unfortunately, this type of property's value would be one of the most greatly impacted.
In recent news, Governor Jerry Brown called for a mandatory 25% reduction in water use. In addition, on his website he released a request that 50 million square feet of lawns be replaced with drought tolerant landscaping. I have already seen at least ten houses convert their struggling lawns to rocks, tanbark, sand, and even AstroTurf.
In CAR's June-July 2015 edition, an article discussed how drought can actually slow home building. This can arise from the need to obtain water connections in new housing projects. It was stated that "At a time when supply is already too low in California to meet growing housing demand, the state's water issues may exacerbate issues within the state market."
From this we have seen that the drought can affect utility expense, property values, water usage, and even new home production. What can we do about this? There are many proposals, some of which include various water treatment plants. Many of these are costly and relatively ineffective solutions, but they are definitely worth researching. Before we get into the more complex long term solutions, we must work on what is immediately possible. The first step to this problem starts with each and every one of us conserving water. With that being accomplished, we can then take the next step.
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