Morgan Hill residents will be limited to a single day of watering per week beginning in November. Water officials are forcing residents to cut from three days a week of watering down to one.
"We want water to be available for the things that we need it for," said Maureen Tobin, Morgan Hill's communications director. "It's important that every community in our county in the state take a serious stand on reducing water so that it will be available to us now and in the future."
Water officials said Morgan Hill has been a leader in the South Bay when it comes to water conservation.
Ken Brown initially was frustrated with the strict call to conserve, but quickly changed course when he started seeing the severe drought's impact.
"Who can you blame? Mother Nature? We won’t point the finger at the water department or the water district," Brown said. "I can say originally yeah, I was frustrated with them, but then the more I got to know the situation and realizing how dire the situation is, they’re just doing everything they can to save the water for everybody."
Brown's family has owned Andy's Orchard for more than 60 years -- and with thousands of fruit trees to protect, they've had to get creative during the drought. The family has installed pumps and has been getting water from a neighboring farm.
"It's a real eye-opener to see what's happened and what is happening," Brown said.
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Other residents said they are willing to do their part now to ensure they are protected in the future.
