The policy, dubbed Making Conservation a California Way of Life, is intended to permanently decrease statewide water use so that water reductions during droughts aren’t as severe. The new policy was prompted by legislation signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018.

Retail water suppliers, not individual households or businesses, will now be required to reduce their water use by close to 30% over the next 15 years. Suppliers who do not follow the new guidelines will face $10,000 daily fines.

The new rules are expected to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025; the first round of cuts will happen by 2027. Unsurprisingly, some water agencies have been critical of the policy, while some environmental groups expressed that the water reduction percentages should have been higher.