State Meeting Water Regulation Goals

Californians have reduced their water use by 26.3 percent since emergency regulations were implemented in June of last year.

That means state residents and businesses are meeting Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandated reduction of water use by 25 percent per month, according to data released Monday by the state water resources control board.

In November, a month when outdoor water use usually drops considerably, statewide water consumption was down 20.3 percent. In October, that figure was 22.3 percent, the board reported.

Broken down individually, average water use declined from 87 gallons per person per day in October to 75 gallons in November, the lowest drop since the regulations were implemented.

“The fact that per person water use dropped to 75 gallons per person per day on average is proof that Californians are clearly thinking twice before turning on the tap,” said Felicia Marcus, board chair, in the statement.”

Marcus cautioned that, even with the recent rain and snow, the drought has been so severe that state officials won’t know until spring, at earliest, whether the conservation mandates can be lessened.