Not A Drop

I gather that taps will run dry (as they have some places) where people have their own wells first, then in smaller communities isolated from the water system more generally. And then?

Tom Mosby heads the Montecito Water Authority. Faced with running out of water, he imposed drastic water cuts on the area's 10,000 residents.

He's already handed out $2 million in fines to people who use more than they're allowed.

"It's been difficult," Mosby said. "We've had many people come to us with appeals asking us for more water."

Montecito has almost no ground water access. Eighty-five percent of its supply comes from nearby Lake Cachuma. It is now just 30 percent full -- part pond, but mostly prairie. If the drought continues, it could be empty next year.