The California dream of owning a house with a sparkling swimming pool is drying up for would-be swimmers in communities across the state as some local water districts have banned homeowners from filling empty pools in drought-stricken areas.

 

The restrictions come as California struggles through its third year of a catastrophic drought that has threatened a half-million acres of farmland, dried up reservoirs and shrunk the mountain snowpack that provides drinking water for millions of people.

 

More than a dozen California water districts, including those serving Santa Barbara and parts of Sacramento, have limited or banned the filling of swimming pools this year, several of the restrictions taking effect this month to comply with new state conservation rules.

 

The Santa Margarita District's ban is among the strictest, prohibiting 165,000 residents from adding more than a foot of water to any swimming pool - even one that's just been built.

 

In Santa Barbara, residents are prohibited from draining and refilling pools by more than a third.

 

In addition to the restrictions on pools, many of the water districts also limit how residents may water lawns, ban washing sidewalks, and stipulate that restaurants can only serve drinking water on request.

 

Nationwide, the United States Drought Monitor said Thursday that a third of the United States is in a drought, with conditions most severe in the West.