text: For the first time in 65 years the California Department of Water Resources has found no snow during its manual survey of the land at 6,800 feet in the Sierra Nevada in early April. Governor Jerry Brown observed the survey on Wednesday, which found the lowest water level in the Sierra Nevada snowpack since 1950 when records began. The fourth consecutive year of vanishing snow spells trouble as California depends on it to melt into rivers and replenish reservoirs. As he stood in a brown meadow that's normally blanketed in snow, Gov. Brown ordered sweeping, unprecedented measures to save water in the state. Scroll down for video . What a difference a year makes: Spatial distribution of the total volume of water in the snowpack across the Tuolumne River Basin in California's Sierra Nevada mountains as measured by NASA's Airborne Snow Observatory is seen in images from March 25, 2015 (bottom) and April 7, 2014 (top) 'We're in a new era; the idea of your nice little green grass getting water every day, that's going to be a thing of the past,' Brown said. The governor's order requires cities and towns to cut water use by 25 percent. So far in the current drought, many Californians have not made changes to their daily routines to save water or taken a hit in their wallets because of it. Attending the survey with Gov Brown was DWR Director Mark Cowin, who said Californians can expect to receive almost no water from the meager snowpack as it melts in the coming weeks. 'Today's survey underscores the severity of California's drought,' he said. 'Water conservation must become a way of life during the worst drought in most Californians' lifetimes.' In what were considered normal precipitation years, the snowpack supplied about 30 percent of California's water needs as it melts in the spring and summer. California's historically wettest winter months have already passed, and the drought is now firmly rooted in its fourth consecutive year, reports AGWeb. Frank Gehrke, left, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program for the Department of Water Resources, and Gov. Jerry Brown walk across a dry meadow that is usually covered in several inches of snow as conducts the snow survey, near Echo Summit on Wednesday . One year ago: In this April 1, 2014 photo, Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for California's Department of Water Resources, crosses a meadow still covered in snow as he returns from conducting the snowpack survey at Echo Summit, California . Early last year, Brown called for a 20 percent voluntary cutback, but the state achieved just half of that. In recent years, cities have developed storage capacity and supplies to soften the blow of future dry years — a move that has insulated residents from the severity of the current drought. In 1977, Brown asked for a voluntary 25 percent cut in water use during his first term as governor. Nearly 40 years later, he warns that drought might be the new normal as he ramps up efforts to adapt. His executive order on Wednesday directed officials to impose statewide mandatory water restrictions and expand programs intended to reshape how Californians use water. Cemeteries, golf courses and business headquarters must significantly cut back on watering the large landscapes. Local governments will tear out 50 million square feet of lawns and instead use drought-tolerant plants. And customers will get money for replacing old water-sucking appliances with efficient ones under a temporary rebate program. This 3-D composite image map of the Sierra snowpack released by NASA shows the deficit in the total volume of water contained within the Tuolumne River Basin snowpack from April 7, 2014 to March 25, 2015 . The initiatives are part of the goal to reduce water use by 25 percent compared to levels in 2013 — the year before Brown declared a drought emergency. The order also directs local agencies to charge extra for high water use. Water officials vowed to crack down on waste and illegal water diversion, acknowledging there has been spotty enforcement of existing rules limiting outdoor water use. The order also prohibits new homes and developments from using drinkable water for irrigation if the structures lack water-efficient drip systems. In addition, the watering of decorative grasses on public street medians is banned. 'We have to pull together and save water in every way we can,' Brown said. Critics of the Democratic governor said his order does not go far enough to address agriculture — the biggest water user in California. The Enterprise Bridge passes over full water levels at a section of Lake Oroville on July 20, 2011 (top) in Oroville, California, compared with August 19, 2014 (bottom) The order contains no water reduction target for farmers. Instead, it requires many agricultural water suppliers to submit detailed drought management plans that include how much water they have and what they're doing to scale back. After a drought in the previous decade, state officials acknowledged that some suppliers did not submit similar required plans. Mark Cowin, director of the Department of Water Resources, said the state will provide money to make sure the plans are written and might penalize those who do not comply. The state is not aiming to go after water-guzzling crops such as almonds and rice the same way Brown has condemned lawns. Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation, said farmers have already suffered deep cutbacks in water supply during the current drought. Farmers have let hundreds of thousands of acres go fallow and laid off thousands of workers as the state and federal government slashed water deliveries from reservoirs. Officials said Wednesday the statewide snowpack is equivalent to 5 percent of the historical average for April 1 and the lowest for that date since the state began record-keeping in 1950. 'It is such an unprecedented lack of snow, it is way, way below records,' said Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources. Cemeteries, golf courses and business headquarters must significantly cut back on watering the large landscapes .
target: For the first time in 75 years the California Department of Water Resources has found no snow during its survey of the Sierra Nevada in early April .
  NASA images showing  the snowpack across the Tuolumne River Basin   show a marked decrease since last April .
  California depends on the snow to melt into rivers and replenish reservoirs .
  Gov. Brown ordered sweeping, unprecedented measures to save water in the state on Wednesday .
  Cemeteries, golf courses and business headquarters must significantly cut back on watering the large landscapes .
  The governor's order contains no water reduction target for farmers .
  Initiatives are part of the goal to reduce water use by 25 percent compared to levels in 2013 .