SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom has been urging Californians to conserve water after another dry winter. And according to preliminary data from California State Water Resources Board, Californians cut their water use in May by 5% from the previous May.
Erik Ekdahl, deputy director of the water board's Division of Water Rights, said a board meeting Tuesday that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is gone for the season and the area will not see significant precipitation any time soon.
“The state still remains in a severe drought with some intensification of the drought in the southern Sierra,” said Ekdahl. “The monthly temperature forecast for the coming month shows that most of California has an equal chance of remaining at average temperatures for this time of the year.”
A small portion of southeastern California including areas near Needles, Blythe and the Colorado River areas expect higher than normal temperatures for the next month.
Ekdahl said the is data still preliminary and could change based on what water districts that haven't reported usage figures yet reveal. But with water districts serving half the state's population reporting, Ekdahl said average household consumption stood at 98 gallons per person per day in May. The final figures will be released at the board's meeting in late July.
If the trends hold, the reduction in water use will help to counteract April, when Californians used 13% more water than in April 2021.
Newsom has not issued any mandates to cut water use at the state level and is allowing local water districts to decide how they will meet the water use targets. His office did not respond for comment about the preliminary numbers by press time.
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