In a sign that many state residents finally have let their lawns go brown and cut showers short amid the historic drought, Californians reduced their water use 27.3 percent in June, compared with June 2013, the second month in a row they beat Gov. Jerry Brown’s 25 percent target.
State water officials said Thursday the new figures are particularly encouraging because last month was the hottest June on record, which normally would have resulted in Californians turning up their sprinklers.
“The June numbers tell a story of conscious conservation,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. “That’s what we need.
“We have to take the ‘better safe than sorry’ approach,” she added. “We absolutely don’t know when this drought will end.”
Among the best performers in June were Menlo Park, Redwood City and the Dublin San Ramon Services District, which cut water use 46.7 percent, 39.1 percent and 42.5 percent, respectively, compared with the same period in 2013. Each beat its state target by more than 30 percentage points.
The worst of the worst was Livingston, a city of 13,000 people in Merced County. State officials required Livingston to cut water use by 32 percent compared with 2013 levels. Residents there managed only a 3 percent reduction.
“We’ve seen a lot of great sacrifice and progress from so many areas,” said Sara Aminzadeh, executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, an environmental group based in San Francisco. “It’s really disappointing to see that some areas aren’t making meaningful efforts. It’s a fairness issue.”
She noted, for example, that although 265 of the state’s 405 cities, water districts and private water companies met their mandatory state conservation targets in June, 140 did not. And, she added, 19 water agencies still allow lawn watering seven days a week.
“The governor issued an emergency order over a year ago,” Aminzadeh said. “There’s really no excuse at this point.”
Despite some sporadic recent storms in Southern California and the Sierra Nevada this month, 95 percent of California remains in a “severe” drought, according to new figures out Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report from the federal government and University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
With dwindling reservoirs, no Sierra snowpack and dangerously low groundwater levels, Californians got off to a slow start with urban water conservation this year.
June’s 27.3 percent statewide reduction is compared to June 2013, the baseline year that the state uses. In May, when weather was cooler, the state’s urban residents cut water use 29.1 percent compared to May 2013. But in the months before that, conservation levels were much lower, with many spring months in single digits, particularly in Southern California.
Alarmed, Brown and the state water board in May issued mandatory water conservation targets of between 4 percent and 36 percent, with possible fines of up to $10,000 a day for failing to meet those targets.
Cities and water providers with low per capita use, such as San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Hayward, were given lower targets. Ones with high per capita use, like Beverly Hills, Bakersfield and the upscale San Mateo County community of Hillsborough, were given higher targets.
State officials increased pressure Thursday on cities that are failing badly in meeting their targets, reporting that 16 water providers — nearly all in Southern California and the Central Valley — were off by 15 percentage points or more. None of the failing cities or districts is in the Bay Area. The group includes arid areas with high per-capita water use and lots of golf courses, like Coachella Valley and Indian Wells.
Water board officials were vague Thursday when asked at what point they will begin to issue fines, declining to say exactly when cities and water districts will be ordered to pay civil penalties.
“There are stories in each of these communities, and we are going to talk to them first,” Marcus said. But, she added, “I guarantee you if folks don’t step up, we will go to the fine stage.”
In the meantime, Max Gomberg, a climate and conservation manager for the state water board, said state officials will meet with the worst-performing cities and water districts in the coming weeks and issue legally binding orders for them to meet their targets. They also will review local water conservation rules and suggest ways the cities can boost savings, such as strengthening enforcement for people wasting water and toughening rules for landscape watering.
“They are significantly off the mark, and we need to get them back on track,” Gomberg said.
Among large Bay Area water providers, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which serves 1.3 million people in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, cut use 31 percent in June, beating its state target by 15 percentage points. The San Jose Water Co., which serves 1 million residents, cut water use 35.2 percent, also beating its state target by 15 percentage points.
The Contra Costa Water District saw a decline of even more, 40.4 percent, in June, which beat its state target by 12 percentage points.
All three major providers also were below the state residential water use average in June of 97 gallons per person per day.
Marcus cautioned that although the major El Niño conditions now present in the Pacific Ocean might bring heavy rains this winter, they need to be soaking and sustained. It’s also important, she noted, that they be cold storms that beef up the Sierra snowpack and drench Northern California, where many of the state’s biggest reservoirs are located.
“If it happens, we’ll celebrate, but we can’t count on it,” she said.
Major water organizations praised the public’s response and said most water providers are doing a good job.
“It’s been a huge lift in a short amount of time,” said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies.
He added, however, that water agencies usually have to raise rates in droughts because they sell less water and have to spend more money on rebates, advertising and buying extra water. The higher rates often enrage customers, who feel they are being punished for saving water.
“The reality,” Quinn said, “is that rate increases, surcharges and other pricing adjustments are part of the drought story this year.”
Paul Rogers covers resources and environmental issues. Contact him at 408-920-5045. Follow him at Twitter.com/PaulRogersSJMN.
