Californians only cut their water use by 2.8 percent in February

California is in the midst of a major drought, but its residents have barely reduced their water consumption.

A new report from California's water board shows that Californians reduced their water usage by just 2.8 percent in February, compared with eight percent in January and 22 percent in December. The Los Angeles Times reports that while Southern California reduced its water usage by 2.3 percent, most of the rest of the state actually increased its water usage.

Last week, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) issued a mandatory water restriction order to force the state to reduce its water usage by 25 percent over the next nine months. Ninety-eight percent of the state is affected by the drought, and two-thirds of California are experiencing "extreme" drought conditions.

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"The gentle nudge is no longer sufficient," Max Gomberg, the state water board’s senior scientist, told the Times. "We're taking the enforcement piece very seriously."

Local water agencies will be given water-use reduction orders, based primarily on their per-capita water use. Agencies that fail to meet the order could receive fines as great as $10,000 a day.