Why Southern California has largely been spared by the state’s worst drought conditions MORE If the drought is so bad, why aren’t we feeling it in LA so far? Photo by Shutterstock.
Los Angeles received less than half its average rainfall last year, most of the state is in a drought emergency, and Governor Gavin Newsom has asked all residents to reduce their water usage by 15%. But a stroll through any well-watered neighborhood in Southern California would suggest otherwise.
“I don t think there s quite the urgency, and we haven t had our politicians step up this time, [and] the voice of the drought hasn t been amplified as much at this point,” says Nick Setyal, who lives in South LA’s Windsor Hills neighborhood. His dry and brittle brown yard stands out among his nearby houses with neon green lawns.