California

Survey Finds “Steep Decline” in California Water Conservation in January

The State Water Board will determine over the next few months if more water restrictions are needed

Californians are back-sliding when it comes to saving water.

After exceeding Gov. Jerry Brown's call to reduce water use by 20 percent, California residents' water conservation has dropped from 22 percent in December to almost 9 percent in January, the State Water Resources Control Board said Tuesday.

A "very wet" December 2014 may have lowered the need for outdoor water use and probably contributed to that month's high conservation rate, officials said. Conversely, January 2015 was the driest January on record, according to the report.

"Today’s announcement is a disappointment, but not a surprise considering how dry January was," said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus in a statement. "Clearly state residents used their outdoor irrigation in January, which appears to account for the decline in water conservation."

A breakdown of results by hydrologic region show that some areas improved in their efforts to save water, including the Colorado River region that doubled water conservation from 6.3 percent in December to 12.3 percent a month later.

Meanwhile, two of the most heavily populated regions conserved much less water and affected the statewide average, according to survey results.

The South Coast saved two and a half times more water in December than it did in January. Similarly, the San Francisco Bay Area, which accounts for about one-fifth of residential water customers in California, had savings of 21.6 percent in December and 3.7 percent in January.

The water board survey also found a slight increase in per capita daily water use, from 67.2 gallons in December to 72.6 gallons in January.

The State Water Board will meet on March 17 to discuss renewing the Emergency Water Conservation Regulation that "restricts outdoor water use and authorizes penalties for water use."

In certain regions, outdoor watering can compose up to 80 percent of urban water use, according to the report. Ninety-five percent of water agencies had established restrictions in January.

"If 2015, and then 2016 continue to be dry, we will look back on today, and this month, let alone the last year, wishing we’d saved more water now," Marcus said. "This board is prepared to make some tough decisions in the coming months, including adopting permanent, rather than emergency water conservation measures, going forward. It is that serious."

Though these emergency regulations will be in effect until April 25, officials say they will likely be extended if current drought conditions continue.

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