California's drought-stricken cities set a record for water conservation, reducing usage 29 percent in May, according to data released by a state agency Wednesday. Rich Pedroncelli, The Associated Press- By From staff and Associated Press reports
Posted Jul. 1, 2015 at 1:01 PM
Updated Jul 1, 2015 at 5:50 PMSACRAMENTO — California's drought-stricken cities set a record for water conservation, reducing usage 29 percent in May, according to data released by the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday.
Regulators hope the savings will last through summer as California communities are under order to cut water use by 25 percent compared to 2013 levels. Gov. Jerry Brown announced his mandatory conservation order in April.
In the Victor Valley, water supplier savings were pegged at 11.5 percent to 25 percent for May use when compared to the same month two years ago. Residents in San Bernardino County Service Areas 70 (including Oak Hills) and 64 (Spring Valley Lake) conserved well, posting savings rates of 25 percent and 21.8 percent respectively. Residents of Oak Hills cut use from 58.5 million gallons in May 2013 to 43.7 million gallons in May.
The Hesperia Water District's conservation rate was the second-highest for the area, coming in at 23.6 percent.
"The city is very pleased to learn that Hesperia reduced water consumption in May by 24 percent compared to May 2013," Hesperia spokeswoman Rachel Molina said. "Hesperia residents and businesses have really stepped up conservation efforts since the State of California imposed additional conservation requirements."
The city's target tier for water savings June through February is 32 percent. Most local tiers exceed the amount local officials think is fair in the hot, dry region.
Adelanto water users conserved the least toward attaining the governor's goal locally, posting a savings rate of 11.5 percent. That conservation figure is followed by a water-savings rate of 15.3 percent by the Victorville Water District.
"Although we may apparently be the least in the Victor Valley, I am pleased to see a reduction in double digits," Adelanto City Manager Tom Thornton said. "The City of Adelanto’s per capita usage is very low to start out with so any reduction shows that our citizens are doing their best to address the drought situation.
"Also it should be noted that May of 2015 was prior to the governor requiring Adelanto to cut 20 percent of their production ... so this reduction was voluntary."
The city has sent out a flier to water users about what is required of them and has established a drought hotline — 760-246-2300, ext. 3045 — to answer customers' questions.
The May water savings were the best showing since the state started tracking conservation last year. It followed several months of tepid conservation statewide, at 13.5 percent in April and 4 percent in March.
The data is self-reported by California water departments and includes residential and business consumption. All regions of the state showed improvement.
The southern coast, which includes Los Angeles and San Diego, conserved 25 percent in May after months of tepid savings. Sacramento and its surrounding suburbs were the state's top performer, cutting water use nearly 40 percent.
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