Despite hot weather, Californians reduced water use 27.3 percent in June, exceeding the governor’s 25 percent mandate imposed as a response to the worsening effects of a four-year drought, state officials announced Thursday.
In the first month of new restrictions, the State Water Resources Control Board reported substantial water conservation even though June was the hottest month on record on the planet.
Southern California residents reduced water use 23 percent as compared to the same month in 2013, the board reported, slipping slightly from a savings of 26 percent in May. The Sacramento region led with a near 36 percent reduction, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area at 32 percent.
The state’s urban users saved 59.4 billion gallons or 182,151 acre feet of water in June, putting the state on track to save 1.2 million acre feet by next year. (An acre foot of water equals 326,000 gallons, which could sustain up to four suburban families in a year, based on their water use.)
“That is water in the bank for a future dry year or more, which is the point of all of this,” said Felicia Marcus, chair of the state water board.
The first-ever state-mandated water-reduction ordinance began June 1 and runs through Feb. 29, 2016, putting cities and urban water agencies on a nine-month water diet requiring between 8 percent and 36 percent conservation.
The ordinance adopted May 5 by the board implements the governor’s emergency order of April 1 requiring an aggregate, 25 percent reduction statewide from 411 urban water suppliers.
Of those, about 40 percent reduced water use 30 percent or more in June. On the low end, some 16 suppliers missed their marks by 15 percent or more, 71 agencies missed by 5 percent to 15 percent and 53 by between 1 percent and 5 percent, said Max Gomberg, climate and conservation manager for the state board.
The scofflaws included the city of El Monte, which failed to meet an 8 percent target and instead used 15 percent more water. One reason could be the city has failed to pass a water conservation ordinance and has few outdoor watering restrictions, sources said. Cities of Fallbrook, Phelan and Indian Wells missed their targets by more than 25 percent, the state board reported.
None of those that missed their conservation requirements have been fined, Gomberg said. Instead, the board mailed out letters of information or detailed conservation orders, keeping actual fines in abeyance.
Monthly measurements
Water-use reductions are measured month-by-month. Each community’s conservation target varies and is based on its per capita water use from last summer. Those that used more in the past must save more water; those that used less have to cut back less, according to the water board’s tiered conservation standards.
Many Southern California agencies in June met targets, came close or exceeded. Los Angeles nearly met its 16 percent goal. Long Beach exceeded the same target by 3 percent. San Bernardino met its 28 percent goal. Singled out by the state as a high achiever was San Gabriel Valley Water Co., which used 35.3 percent less water in June, nearly doubling its 16 percent target.
A concerted outreach effort that included community meetings and mailings to its 250,000 customers, plus imposition of surcharges in mid-June for those using more than a reasonable allotment of water accounted for the savings, said Dan Arrighi, water conservation manager.
Beverly Hills, which had struggled earlier this year, reduced by nearly 22 percent, but was still 10 percent below its 32 percent target.
In San Marino, an affluent community east of Los Angeles with a median household income of $128,500 and mostly larger-lot single-family homes, water is counted among California-American Water Co.’s Los Angeles District. Use was down almost 30 percent — above its 28 percent target, state board records show.
City Manager John Schaefer said the city itself removed turf from in front of City Hall and median strips along Huntington Drive and Sierra Madre Boulevard.
Marcus said she was encouraged by the efforts of many Southern California cities and residents to save water. She hopes savings will continue into July, August and September.
“It is not just we are in a drought. We are in a drought of our lives,” she said.
