California water savings take a dip in October

In October, when outdoor water use – and the opportunity for significant savings – typically drops off from the hot summer months, the statewide conservation rate was 22.2 percent, down from 26.4 percent in September.

In a statement, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board Felicia Marcus says drop in conservation numbers was not unexpected.

California officials announced Tuesday that the state’s massive water delivery system, which carries mountain runoff to cities and farms, will likely supply only 10 percent of the water requested next year due to the drought – half of what was provided this year. Regulators attributed the slight decline in urban water conservation to scorching October temperatures that averaged seven degrees higher than October 2013. It is good we are still up there on the cumulative total.

The conservation push comes as California experiences its driest four-year span on record.

The October conservation numbers released by the State Water Resources Control Board represented the first time since June that residents fell below Gov. Jerry Brown’s order of 25 percent reductions.

Marcus says that despite the dip in the latest conservation figures, California is meeting its target when you look at several months altogether. Both the monthly percent saved and the cumulative percent saved still fall short of the 32 percent water conservation standard.

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Most Orange County water districts are on track to meet cumulative water conservation goals. “We’re going to reach some equilibrium”, Rossi said.

Statewide water savings for October was 22.2 percent (128,901 acre-feet or 41.9 billion gallons), a decrease from Septembers 26.2 percent savings. “We just don’t have as much easy water that we can save”.

Vacaville reduced its water usage by 24.6 percent in October, five percent below the 30 percent reduction goal the city set for October a few months ago, the city reported last month. Beverly Hills, Indio, Redlands and the Coachella Valley Water District were each fined $61,000.

Schaich said some residents may be suffering from “demand hardening”, meaning reducing water use further will become much more hard.

Brown, uncertain if drought-busting storms are coming this winter, recently extended his executive order preparing the state for a fifth year of drought.

Below-average rain and snowfall have fallen on the northern Sierra Nevada, while the central Sierra has received above-average precipitation, said Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

During this time of year, Reynolds said that the City encourages residents to shut-off their outdoor landscape watering as most plants and trees are dormant this time of year and require little to no water.