Man Sentenced to 30 Days for Catching Rain Water on Own Property Enters Jail
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“I’m sacrificing my liberty so we can stand up as a country and stand for our liberty,” Harrington told a small crowd of people gathered outside of the Jackson County (Ore.) Jail.
Several people held signs that showed support for Harrington as he was taken inside the jail.
Harrington was found guilty two weeks ago of breaking a 1925 law for having, what state water managers called “three illegal reservoirs” on his property. He was convicted of nine misdemeanors, sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined over $1500 for collecting rainwater and snow runoff on his property.
The Oregon Water Resources Department, claims that Harrington has been violating the state’s water use law by diverting water from streams running into the Big Butte River.
But Harrington says he is not diverting the state’s water — merely collecting rainwater and snow melt that falls or flows on his own property.
Harrington has vowed to continue
to fight the penalty, stating that the government has become “big bullies” and that “from here on in, I’m going to fight it.”As state officials announced the lowest-ever snowpack in the Sierra Nevada — the source of nearly a third of California’s fresh water — Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday said mandatory conservation measures would go into effect for the first time in history.
Fields
of carrots are watered in Kern County March 29, 2015, when the snowpack
in the Sierra Nevada mountain range hit an unprecedented low.
California’s drought, in its fourth year, is going from bad to worse,
with water levels expected to be the lowest on record. (Credit: FREDERIC
J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
“The reality is the climate is getting warmer, the weather is getting more extreme and unpredictable, and we have to become more resilient, more efficient and more innovative and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Brown said.
He spoke during the state’s annual April 1 snow survey, which gives water officials a picture of the amount of water that will be available to the state at the end of the rainy season. Snowpack is traditionally at its peak on that date.
For the first time in 75 years, no snow at all was found at the Phillips snow course, according to the state Department of Water Resources. On average, about 5 1/2 feet of snow are found at that site on April 1.
Gov.
Jerry Brown announced mandatory drought restrictions near
Sierra-at-Tahoe on April 1, 2015, in an area normally covered in snow on
that date. (Credit: Department of Water Resources)
That’s the lowest of record, below the previous lows of 25 percent last year and in 1977.
California’s drought is now “firmly rooted in its fourth consecutive year,” the Department of Water Resources announced in a press release that stated, “Sierra Nevada snowpack is virtually gone.”
“This is the new normal,” Brown said.
In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday to discuss the state’s historically low snowpack, California’s director of snow surveys called the situation “dire.”
“We’re not only setting a new low, we’re completely obliterating the previous record,” said David Rizzardo, chief of snow surveys and water supply forecasting for the Department of Water Resources.
California
Department of Water Resources snow survey chief Frank Gehrke is shown
at left in both photos conducting snow surveys on April 1 in Phillips.
On 2010, left, snowpack was 117 percent of normal. In 2015, right,
snowpack was 5 percent, and it was the first time in 75 years there had
been no snow on that site at that date. Gov. Jerry Brown is at right in
2015 photo. (Credit: Max Whittaker/Getty Images)
Brown and legislative leaders on March 19 unveiled a $1 billion plan to pay for water-related projects and programs in areas where water supplies have dried up.
In announcing those measures, Brown had defended the water board’s restrictions from criticism that they did not go far enough, saying he wanted to do more but that such efforts take time.
Less than two weeks later, on Wednesday he said the state would make water-use restrictions mandatory for the first time in history.
The executive order requires cities and towns to reduce water use by 25 percent below 2013 levels by Feb. 28, 2016, with usage reported to the state by water suppliers.
An
inch of patchy snow is all that remains on the ground at Glacier Point
as trials in the area are mostly snow-free on Jan. 23 in Yosemite
National Park. (Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The governor noted he had called for voluntary water reductions but had not seen compliance.
“I called for 20 percent voluntary and we’re getting more like 9 percent. That’s not enough,” Brown said.
Under previous state actions, local agencies can fine property owners up to $500 a day for failure to implement conservation requirements. And the state water board can issue cease-and-desist orders against water agencies that fail to impose conservation measures. Local agencies that violate such orders can be subject to civil liabilities of up to $10,000 a day, according to the state’s news release.
“We won’t hesitate to use the full range of tools we have, because the situation is serious,” said water board chair Felicia Marcus on an afternoon call with reporters.
There were no specific reductions mandated for agricultural uses, which account for some 80 percent of state water consumption. Officials said farmers were already being impacted by the longstanding water-rights system and were seeing dramatically reduced or eliminated supplies available to them from federal and state water supplies.
Other elements of the 31-point order include:
- A statewide rebate program to help consumers replace old appliances with more efficient models;
- water-use cuts at campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other facilities with lawns or significant;
- a prohibition on new residential developments using potable water for irrigation unless a drip system is used;
A file photo shows sprinkler spilling water on sidewalks. (Credit: KTLA) - a ban on watering of ornamental areas and medians using potable water;
- a requirement that local water agencies report usage, conservation and enforcement efforts to the state;
- requiring “conservation pricing” for local water agencies; and
- the replacement of 50 million square feet — or about 1,150 acres — of lawns and turf with drought-tolerant landscapes.
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