California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
Good job California. At least, that’s what you thought you’d hear with the release of June’s water conservation numbers. However, Governor Gavin Newsom met with local water leaders to call for their continued action to increase conservation efforts further.
The State Water Resources Control Board’s June Urban Water Conservation update showed that Californians used 7.6 percent less water overall in June this year compared to June 2020 and more than doubled the statewide savings in May (3.1%), putting California solidly back on track toward saving water.
Instead of cheering the news, Newsom asked water agencies and associations to think beyond immediate water conservation needs and continue local efforts to cut back water usage in the face of limited supplies due to extreme heat and dry weather.
“We are dealing with a changed climate in California that demands we reimagine not just how we use water, but how we capture, store and distribute it throughout the state,” said Governor Newsom. “We are heading in the right direction but we need local water providers to do more to not only save water, but to help the state manage and increase supply as rain and snowfall become less reliable.”
The state is calling on Californians to take immediate action to avoid a crisis, including:
- Limiting outdoor watering – cutting back by even just one day a week can save you up to 20 percent more water.
- Taking shorter showers. Going to a 5-minute shower to save up to 12.5 gallons per shower when using a water-efficient shower head.
- Taking showers instead of baths – a bath uses up to 2.5 times the amount of water as a shower.
- Using a broom instead of a hose to clean outdoor areas to save 6 gallons of water every minute.
- Washing full loads of laundry to save 15-45 gallons of water per load.
