SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Revisiting valuable habits learned during the previous drought, California cities and businesses slashed water use over 13% in October compared to a year ago.
Though still shy of Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for a 15% cut in urban water use, the state’s drought regulator said the latest figure indicates Californians are returning to their stingy ways at the tap.
“These numbers are very heartening and it’s good to see that Californians are responding,” said Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board.
Due to rapidly diminishing reservoir levels, Newsom issued an executive order in July calling on residents to reduce water use by 15%. But for the first few months, the message didn’t hit home with the state’s nearly 40 million residents.
Prior to Tuesday’s update, water conservation peaked in August when Californians used 5% less. Between July and October, the state has tallied a cumulative water savings of 5.7%, a far cry from meeting Newsom’s voluntary target.
California is coming off one of the warmest and driest two stretches in state history and after a wet October, November was abnormally dry in most regions.
Water board officials attributed October’s savings to a dramatic decline in outdoor irrigation, a brief stretch of heavy rainfall and a jump in conservation in the southern part of the state.
According to data compiled from the state’s nearly 400 water suppliers, each of the state’s 10 hydrological regions reported their highest water savings of the year in October.
The North Coast region saw the biggest month-over-month improvement at 22.3%, while the South Coast — which accounts for over 55% of the state population — reported a 12% savings. The Sacramento River region chipped in with 18.8%, San Francisco Bay 17.7% and the San Joaquin River area with 13%.
Water board members said October’s urban water usage was nearly in line with 2015 levels, when the state was under a mandatory 25% reduction order, but reiterated the encouraging news can’t be a onetime occurrence.
“California is still very dry, 80% of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought,” said Charlotte Ely, supervisor of the water board’s conservation and efficiency department. “We have to stay vigilant, and we ask for Californians to keep on conserving.”
Unlike the previous drought which stretched through much of the last decade, mandatory water restrictions haven’t been placed on most California residents and businesses.
Though Newsom has declared drought emergencies in each of the state’s 58 counties, he has shunned a statewide mandate like the one issued by his predecessor Jerry Brown in 2015. But similar rules are on the horizon as last week officials at the Department of Water Resources predicted Newsom could reintroduce mandatory urban water usage cuts in the coming months.
In the meantime, the water board is moving forward with new drought rules for California neighborhoods.
Like rules enacted during the previous drought, residents and businesses can be fined up to $500 for excessive lawn watering, running sprinklers within 48 hours of rainfall or using potable water for street cleaning. The rules will also temporarily halt homeowners associations’ ability to bar members from replacing lawns with drought tolerant landscapes.
The water board is currently taking public comment and will vote on the drought regulations in January. If approved, local municipalities and water agencies will be tasked with enforcing the emergency water conservation rules.
Tuesday’s hearing also featured an update on the current hydrological conditions of the state’s main reservoirs. To no surprise, reservoir levels have dropped after a disappointingly arid November and officials continue to warn that one site remains on the brink of going completely dry.
California’s largest reservoir, Shasta Lake, is at 24% of capacity, while Lake Oroville sits at 30% and New Melones just 36%. Of particular concern is Lake Mendocino, a key drinking water source for wine country cities like Ukiah and Healdsburg.
Erik Ekdahl, water board deputy director, cast the situation in the Russian River watershed as increasingly “dire.” He said the gains from a series of record-breaking October storms have quickly disappeared from Lake Mendocino.
“Unless there is significant increase in reservoir storage, Lake Mendocino is still at significant risk of running out of water supply over the next year,” said Ekdahl.
Local drinking water systems remain stressed as well, with dozens at “high potential” of running out of water over the next three months. Nearly a dozen smaller systems are already drained and relying on bottled water or hauled water deliveries to sustain customers.
With long-range forecasts predicting little drought relief for California, state officials are prepping for the likelihood of a third-straight dry year.
“Our system certainly isn’t behaving as it traditionally has,” said Department of Water Resources director Karla Nemeth. “The collective wisdom is that the forces of climate are bearing down and expressing themselves in all kinds of different ways.”
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