Riverside County’s water use drops
The economic downturn has had an unusual consequence for inland Southern California: water consumption has dropped, allowing the region to meet a statewide requirement to use 20 percent less by 2020.
The Western Municipal Water District in Riverside says its daily, per-person use was 260 gallons last year – down 32 percent from the 2007 rate of 383 gallons. The district’s 2020 goal is 358 gallons.
But the district’s efficiency manager, Tim Barr, tells the Riverside Press-Enterprisethe new numbers are “artificial” – a result of a lack of construction.
He says more conservation work needs to be done because once the economy rebounds the numbers will creep back up.
The savings requirements are part of a 2009 law that set new rules for almost 400 utilities in California.
