California cities cut water use by a combined 31 percent in July, exceeding the governor's statewide mandate to conserve, officials said Thursday.
The strong water conservation figures show California residents are beginning to understand the dire need to cut back in a fourth year of drought, Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, said.
"This isn't your mother's drought or your grandmother's drought," she said. "This is the drought of the century."
Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered cities to use 25 percent less water. In June, the state conserved 27 percent, compared to the same period of 2013, the year before Brown declared a drought emergency.
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Marcus said record rain in July played a role in the savings, causing people to leave their sprinklers idle. Enforcement and strong messaging by water agencies were bigger factors, Marcus said.
"We have a movement in urban California," she said.
Regulators are turning their focus to communities failing to conserve, she said. They are making personal visits with local officials in cities that haven't responded to the mandate by Brown.
Local numbers
Only three local water suppliers exceeding state-mandated cutback targets.
The largest water distributor in the region, the city of San Diego used 29 percent less water in July. The conservation target for San Diego is 16 percent over 2013 monthly figures.
However, customers in the Fallbrook Public Utilities District missed their state-assigned conservation target of 36 percent last month after cutting back consumption by 31 percent. Cumulatively, Fallbrook customers saved 28 percent between June and July.
Residents and businesses in the North County community of Rainbow, also with a target of 36 percent, reduced use by 35 percent. The cumulative total was 28 percent.
In the San Dieguito district, customers saved 26 percent, two percentage points shy of the goal. The cumulative total was just 22 percent.
The city of Carlsbad exceeded its conservation target of 28 percent by one point last month, but the June-July combined total of 27 percent fell slightly short.
The state reported the following figures for other local districts, with July's reduction, the cumulative total, and conservation target:
— Santa Fe Irrigation, 48 percent, 43 percent, 36 percent
— Valley Center, 48, 43, 36
— city of Poway, 43, 40, 32
— Olivenhain, 40, 36, 32
— Padre Dam, 40, 34, 20
— city of Escondido, 40, 36, 20
— Ramona Municipal, 39, 34, 28
— Rincon del Diablo, 37, 33, 32
— Lakeside, 36, 34, 20
— Vallecitos, 35, 34, 24
— Vista Irrigation, 34, 30, 20
— California-American Water San Diego, 33, 30, 8
— city of Oceanside, 32, 29, 20
— Helix, 32, 28, 20
— Otay, 29, 28, 20
— Sweetwater Authority, 27, 26, 12
Officials have not yet issued fines to underperforming water agencies, but they can be as high as $10,000 a day. Marcus said she favors other methods to achieve California's goals.
"I believe that peer pressure and the bully pulpit (are) going to be most effective," she said.
