# How big an issue was water conservation in California in the late 1980s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-an-issue-was-water-conservation-in-california-in-the-late-1980s/974016 "2022-10-30T13:19:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-an-issue-was-water-conservation-in-california-in-the-late-1980s/974016/1 "2022-10-30T13:19:27Z")
My question is inspired by the boox X by Sue Grafton, the current book that I’m reading. It was written in 2015 but takes place in a fictional version of Santa Barbara in 1989. One of the sub-plots involves water conservation, with the landlord of the house that the main character lives in going to such lengths as going to an adult education class about water conservation, having a plumber evaluate his property for ways to conserve water, researching the installation of a gray water system, and changing out his dishwasher for a model that reduces water consumption. My question is if this is something that would have been typical in Southern California in the late 1980s, or if Grafton was projecting our current concern with the issue to an earlier period of time. Did any of you live in the area at that time? What was the general mood of the public regarding water conservation at that time? My guess is that this character is overdoing it, and that the general public was probably not even thinking about the issue back then. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-an-issue-was-water-conservation-in-california-in-the-late-1980s/974016/2 "2022-10-30T13:39:55Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > researching the installation of a gray water system, Was illegal in California at the time. I was living with my grandmother in SoCal in the early 90s and even running a hose from the washer outlet to the backyard was illegal. Water conservation was important but nowhere near thinking it was a crisis. Air quality was the priority at the time. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-an-issue-was-water-conservation-in-california-in-the-late-1980s/974016/3 "2022-10-30T21:29:44Z")
I did not live in the area at the time, but there was a major drought in California in the late 1980s, so it was a big thing. Grafton might be projecting, but the character’s actions in general do seem appropriate to the time to me. Raegan’s deficit spending and criticism of his trickle-down theories, economic issues like high inflation and unemployment, and high cold war tensions (ultimately leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989) would also have been on everyone’s mind and would have been frequent topics for conversation. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-an-issue-was-water-conservation-in-california-in-the-late-1980s/974016/4 "2022-10-30T21:40:39Z")
By the way, you might find this article interesting for context: > **[The Water Picture: 1986-1993](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-25-mn-776-story.html)** > > The record California dry spell has ended with a deluge. Some interesting (and relevant) quotes: > [@](#): > > March, 1990: Faced with a water shortage of nearly 50%, Santa Barbara enacts a tough law to ban lawn-watering. Several other cities throughout the state enact conservation measures. > [@](#): > > May, 1990: Santa Barbara residents try alternatives to green lawns, such as painting brown lawns green and putting in green concrete. > [@](#): > > March, 1992: The Santa Barbara City Council declares the drought over in that city, after the National Weather Service declares the drought over in Ventura and southern Santa Barbara counties. The MWD votes to roll back water rationing and other local agencies relax guidelines.