SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Slogging through one of the hottest and driest stretches in state history, Californian cities and water districts combined to slash water usage by 5% in August compared to August 2020.
Though the reduction falls well short of Governor Gavin Newsom’s target of 15%, regulators on Tuesday said the severity of the drought and the need for water conservation are beginning to stick with residents as wells and reservoirs dry up across the state.
“We are trending in the right direction with August savings more than twice of what we saw in July,” said Marielle Pinheiro, data specialist at the State Water Resources Control Board. “This is especially significant considering that August 2021 was so dry.”
Hours after the water board delivered the bad conservation numbers, Newsom extended drought proclamations that have been in place in most counties for months statewide.
“As the western U.S. faces a potential third year of drought, it’s critical that Californians across the state redouble our efforts to save water in every way possible,” said Newsom in a statement.
The statewide order gives the water board enhanced authority to crack down on wasteful water practices and directs local water supplies to activate drought contingency plans. It expands drought emergencies to the last batch of counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura.
The monthly usage updates from the water board that became a staple during the most recent drought are once again being used to gauge whether Californians are doing their part to preserve the state’s most precious resource.
Pressed by another crippling drought and rapidly diminishing reservoir levels, Newsom issued an executive order in July calling on residents to reduce water use by 15%. He said reaching the target would not only save enough water to supply 1.7 million households for a year but ensure sufficient river flows for salmon to spawn in the fall.
Former Governor Jerry Brown issued the state’s first-ever mandatory conservation rules and called on Californians to cut urban water usage by 25% during last decade’s drought. So far Newsom has left the voluntary order in place.
The debut report card for 2021 was a full-blown disappointment, as residential consumption fell by just 1.8% in July compared to the previous year. In response, the water board urged patience and said it would take time for the governor’s message to hit home with the state’s nearly 40 million residents.
During Tuesday’s monthly meeting, water board officials painted the latest update as a clear sign that Californians are once again committing to being stingy at the tap.
“It is encouraging and heartening to see an over-doubling of the conservation effort from July to August,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, water board chair. “It does take time for the message to spread and for the response to be seen.”
According to the update, water usage dropped in each of the state’s 10 assigned hydrologic regions. The North Coast region saw the biggest month-over-month improvement at 18.3%, followed by the San Francisco Bay (9.9%) and Sacramento River (8.1). Meanwhile the South Coast region, the state’s most populous, reported the lowest total with a 3% usage drop.
Overall, the water board said the state is seeing a 10% drop in urban water usage since the last drought.
The monthly update comes as the state anxiously awaits a series of storms off the Pacific coast that forecasters predict could extinguish the wildfire threat for much of the Golden State.
Weather models are forecasting above-average levels of snow and rain to fall in the central and northern part of the state over the next two weeks, including the possibility of an atmospheric river event. The badly needed storms signal a good start to the state’s water year after California received less than 50% of average in 2020, making it the driest year since 1924.
One watershed that remains of particular concern is the Russian River, where the water board warned a major reservoir could completely dry up if conditions don’t improve.
If water levels continue to drop over the winter at the current rate, the water board said it was possible Lake Mendocino could go dry by as early as next summer. The reservoir is a key drinking water source for wine country cities like Ukiah and Healdsburg and contingency plans are being discussed for the disastrous scenario.
“That date of early 2022 certainly is looming scary,” said Eric Zuniga, who manages the water board’s drought response program.
The predicted soaking won’t nearly pull the state out of drought, but it could offer short-term relief for some farmers that have been forced to stop pulling from rivers and creeks.
Erik Ekdahl, water board deputy director, said the storms will likely allow the water board to lift or ease some of the controversial curtailment orders that have been issued in some of the state’s main watersheds. Farming groups and water suppliers are fighting the water board over the orders currently in state court.
“At this point things are looking very, very encouraging,” said Ekdahl.
Meanwhile the curtailment mandates, which require water rights holders to temporarily cease surface water divisions until reservoir and river levels rise, appear to be working in the far northern part of the state.
The water board heard testimony that over 6,000 salmon have returned in recent weeks to spawn in the Shasta River. Last month the water board restricted water rights for over 2,800 users in the Shasta and Scott River watersheds to guarantee adequate flows for fish and wildlife.
As for compliance with the curtailments, Ekdahl added the state is preparing to issue around 200 civil complaints to mostly smaller water rights holders who haven’t submitted required water usage reports. He said for the most part the state’s main diverters are complying with the emergency reporting and curtailment rules.
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