"We don't want to cry wolf but we also don't want to stick our heads in the sand," said water board chair Felicia Marcus. SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 18 (Reuters) - California moved on Wednesday to dramatically roll back strict mandatory water conservation rules imposed at the height of the state's multi-year drought, after a wet winter eased conditions in parts of the state. On May 9, Brown ordered water regulators to extend some drought protections, such as a prohibition on irrigating lawns and landscape so intensely that water runs down the sidewalk. The board also voted to keep in place a rule requiring restaurants to serve water only upon request. The state Water Resources Control Board voted to end mandatory conservation of up to 36 percent in many communities, moving instead to a system under which only regions where a shortage of supply is anticipated will have to conserve.

Source: Huffington Post May 18, 2016 19:15 UTC