The rain has fallen, the snow is packed deep on the mountains, and now the drought is over. Time to crank up the sprinklers, right?

Nope. The giant snowpack is a relief, but let's continue to conserve.

In the Sierras, people are digging out entire houses, and the snowpack is the greatest it's been in 16 years. When it melts, Southern California will have all the water it needs.

But we know the abundance of water won't last. Gov. Jerry Brown may have declared the two-year drought over, but in California, the outlook remains the same. We either change our ways with water usage, or we'll dry up. That's the somber reality.

Fortunately, many of us have learned new ways to use water efficiently: We've shortened our showers, fixed the leaks, bought efficient washing machines and above all, quit overwatering the lawn, which on average gets half of our household water.

For a dramatic saving, you can transform your lawn into a garden of less-thirsty native plants.

Ready to commit to doing more to conserve water? Join one of the "Inland Empire Garden Friendly" workshops planned throughout April, May and June across the region.

The workshops - which offer residents information on climate-appropriate plants, planting techniques and water efficient irrigation - are sponsored by San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, Cal State San Bernardino Water Resources Institute, Chino Basin Water Conservation District, Eastern Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and Western Municipal Water District. In addition to a series of "WaterWise Gardening Workshops," program sponsors have teamed up with Home Depot stores in the region to offer parking lot sales featuring Inland Empire garden-friendly plants.

For more information on the program and Home Depot sales, visit www.iegardenfriendly.org online.

The bottom line is: Wherever you live in California, drought will come again. Now is the time to reinforce efforts to conserve our scarce supplies.