California IN BRIEF : SAN RAFAEL : Rationing Starts in Marin County

Braced for drought survival and armed with water-saving kits, thousands of Marin County residents today begin living with a daily water allotment of 50 gallons per person. The stringent mandatory rationing by the Marin Municipal Water District also requires businesses to cut back 45% and institutional accounts, such as hospitals, to cut back 50% from 1986-87 water usage levels. Irrigation accounts will have to reduce 85%. The district’s seven reservoirs are at less than one-third of their capacity after five continuous arid years, officials said.