Rancho Santa Fe residents lost the dubious distinction of being the biggest water users in California with new numbers released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board.
The numbers show that in October the Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood in unincorporated San Diego County is now third on the list of biggest residential per capita water users, behind the Myoma Dunes Mutual Water Co. that serves Palm Springs and the Golden State Water Co. in Cowan Heights near Anaheim.
In September, Rancho Santa Fe was first on the list. Its residents' water use made national news with a story in The New York Times on Saturday.
Rancho Santa Fe residents used on average 518 gallons of water a day in October, down from 584 gallons a day in September. But that's still three times the average of other San Diego communities.
The city of San Diego was 326th out of 400 on the October list. Its residents used on average 76 gallons a day, down from 82 gallons in September.
Beginning Nov. 1, San Diego enacted mandatory water restrictions, including limits on when sprinklers can run and when plants can be watered. But the city has not yet hired staff to enforce its new rules.
Luis Generoso, the city's water resources manager, said he hopes that he will be able to hire staff to proactively look for people violating water restrictions this month.
Rancho Santa Fe's water supplier, the Santa Fe Irrigation District, enacted mandatory water restrictions on Sept. 5, including only watering lawns three days a week for no more than 10 minutes unless water-efficient sprinklers are used.
One Rancho Santa Fe resident told The New York Times that heavy water use isn't the community's fault.
"People have gardeners, and they just don’t pay attention," Laura de Seroux said. "That’s the way it is here."
