Coachella Valley Water District customers go above and beyond with water conservation

It seems Golden State residents are taking drought restrictions seriously. As our statewide drought endures, one local water district is doing better than ever when it comes to conserving water.

In the month of July, Coachella Valley Water District customers reduced their water usage by 41 percent.

That’s a huge difference from the 21 percent conserved in June.

CVWD said there’s a simple explanation why.

“June numbers, we hit that 21 percent just from that outreach, that education, those programs and people wanting to do the right thing. The big jump from June to July probably had to do with the drought penalties,” CVWD communication specialist Heather Engel said.

Engel said their programs have had unprecedented participation.

More than 6 million square feet of grass in our valley were removed through their turf rebate program.

Customers seem to be on board.

“We used 12 units in the same month last year, same number of days. This year we used seven units,” CVWD customer Jim Christianson said.

But CVWD said there’s still room for improvement

If you have grass and you don’t have plans to switch to desertscape or artificial turf, CVWD said the only way to meet their restrictions is to let some of that grass go brown.

“Unfortunately, if you’re someone who really likes that green grass, you’re going to be paying a higher rate, you’re going to be paying a drought penalty or you’re going to have to make a sacrifice,” Engel said.

With more people conserving, in turn that means CVWD revenues are down.

Customers need to know the CVWD is a business and the less water you use, the less they make.

“And so, as they continue to use less water, even less than they did in July, we’re going to have to use our reserves to pay the difference. And it may require a rate increase in the future,” CVWD Board President John Powell said.

Saving water and saving money is the real struggle while this drought continues.

CVWD said a leak in your house is the number one reason why people might see a problem on their bill.

They said they still have rebate programs for those who want to switch to artificial turf.

Mission Springs Water District reduced usage by 28 percent.

Desert Water Agency was slightly higher, reducing its water usage by 30 percent.

Statewide in the month of June, water reduction was the best it’s ever been, hitting 27 percent.