Local water districts report water usage saving stats
Californians responded to the worst snowpack measurement on record and unprecedented drought restrictions by decreasing their water use 13.5 percent in April.
Data released Tuesday by state regulators show residents and businesses achieved the savings compared to the same month of 2013.
Southern California cities including Los Angeles and San Diego continued to lag in conservation, cutting just 9 percent.
News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 reached out to local water districts to see how our numbers compare.
Coachella Valley water saving statistics:
Desert Water Agency: 7% reduction rate over April 2013
Coachella Valley Water District: 14% reduction rate over April 2013
Mission Springs Water District: 16% reduction rate over April 2013
Dave Luker, general manager and chief engineer of DWA said, “”We appreciate that our customers have taken steps to conserve, but this is a whole new ball game. The hot summer months are rapidly approaching, and we’ve got a 36 percent mandate and lot of work to do. To achieve additional reductions on top of our recent conservation gains, we need all desert residents to step up – even more than you already have – and follow the mandatory water use restrictions now in effect.”
Officials with C.V.W.D. said they’re excited to see such a significant reduction it their water use, but they remain cautiously optimistic. They said their figures have varied greatly since they started reporting to the state (sometimes showing an increase in water usage), so they need to wait until statistics from May’s water usage are released before determining if this is the beginning of a positive trend.
Mission Springs Water District also reported a significant reduction of water use; 16%. MSWD recently approved a turf rebate program to provide some incentive to its customers.
Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory cutbacks in April as the drought drags on.
The State Water Resources Control Board will start tracking compliance this summer after assigning each community a water use reduction target as much as 36 percent.
The board is also tracking how local agencies crack down on water waste.
