The California Water Board today reported Californians have reduced water use by 27.1 percent in the five months since emergency conservation regulations took effect in June.
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Tuesday’s announcement all but ensures that the city’s strict water rationing policies will remain in place for another year.
In Fairfield, where the conservation standard is 20 percent, residents saved 15.4 percent in October. Customers saved 16.7 percent in October and have cut back use by 22.8 percent since June.
“Conserving water, not only during the drought but as a way of life, is important now and for our future”. Additionally, he said the winter rains typically provide enough water to sustain the plants and trees.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday the State Water Resources Control Board discussed water conservation throughout California. “Having the odds in our favor, can give us hope, but not the certainty we need to relax our efforts”.
Sierra Madre has met with the top 30 water users.
If this El Niño winter is not as wet as expected, however, the board may extend the mandate. “Our historic drought has lasted for years and isn’t going to quickly be washed away”.
The emergency drought regulations are set to expire in February.
Over the last three water reporting months, water conservation numbers in California have continued to dwindle.
Modesto, Oakdale, Turlock and Riverbank missed their water-savings mandates, but Patterson and Ceres exceeded theirs.
Newport Beach officials say they’re doing everything they can.
The city plans to send out 800 violation letters between November and December.
“I don’t know what else we can do besides keep ramping it up and ramping it up”, said George Murdoch, municipal operations director for Newport Beach. Long Beach has used restricters on repeated water use violators.
“Many of these agencies have moved to targeting high users”.
Neighboring Costa Mesa also struggled in October.
In September, state officials for the first time fined four water suppliers for failing to meet their individual conservation targets.
The state ordered the cutbacks from June this year through February 3 and is 76 percent toward meeting that goal. (One acre foot of water is equal to an average Southern California family’s water use for two years). “So there is less room for conservation”.
Felicia Marcus, the board’s chairwoman, would not reveal the October conservation figures before their formal release but blamed the lower numbers on October’s exceptionally warm temperatures. “It’s critical that we regain our conservation momentum to avoid triggering additional restrictions, allocations and surcharges”.
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Riverbank also recently limited outdoor watering to one day a week and only by hand. Residents who don’t comply will face fees, with the district potentially installing flow restrictors or temporarily cutting off service. Beverly Hills, Indio, Redlands and the Coachella Valley Water District were each fined $61,000. None is in Orange County.
