Most of State Exceeding Water Conservation Targets

The November 6 CalChamber newsletter reported that, according to the State Water Resources Control Board, Californians reduced water use by more than 26 percent during September. The conservation rate exceeded the Governor’s 25 percent mandate for the fourth month in a row. The 26.1 percent statewide savings rate for September equates to 165,233 acre-feet/53.8 billion gallons, and was a decrease from the 27 percent savings rate in August, the board said.

For June through September, the cumulative statewide savings rate was 28.1 percent, the board said. That savings translates to 777,739 acre-feet (253.4 billion gallons), and is 65 percent of the goal of saving 1.2 million acre-feet by February 2016.

The statewide average water use for September was 97 residential gallons per capita per day.

The board issued $61,000 penalties against four urban water suppliers that it said have "consistently failed to meet their water conservation goals"—the cities of Beverly Hills, Indio and Redlands, and the Coachella Valley Water District.

The board urged residential water users to continue conservation efforts through the winter, including switching to fall watering schedules of once a week and complying with a prohibition against watering on rainy days and 48 hours after rain.