California Cities Pressured To Step Up To Slash Water Use

(AP) - California communities are preparing to crack down on water guzzlers and wasters in response to the worsening drought.

Gov. Jerry Brown has called for a mandatory 25 percent cut in urban water use compared with 2013. The State Water Resources Control Board will start discussing how to enforce that at a meeting Tuesday.

Cities will likely receive conservation targets based on how much water their residents already use. Some, such as the wealthy coastal community of Newport Beach, are already planning how they'll step up.

The city's water savings have been half the state average. Newport Beach plans to start fining people who water lawns on the wrong day and use too much water.

It previously imposed a four-day-a-week watering schedule and limited the number of times pools could be refilled.