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A proposal by two state water agencies to the legislature to further reduce indoor home water use may prove to be more challenging to suburban water retailers than its urban counterparts.
Last week, the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board submitted a report to the legislature recommending that urban water suppliers achieve an indoor water use efficiency standard of 55 gallons per capita per day by 2023, declining to 47 gallons per day by 2025, and 42 gallons by 2030 and beyond. If adopted by the Legislature, the standards recommended by DWR and the State Water Board would be implemented at the water supplier level and would not apply to individual customers.
The report by the state agencies is required under water conservation legislation enacted in 2018 (Assembly Bill 1668 and Senate Bill 606), is intended to inform the Legislature as it considers next steps to advance progressive and achievable indoor residential water use standards.
As justification for the new proposed standard, the report highlights that the median statewide indoor residential water use is 48 gallons per capita per day, and a quarter of California households already use less than 42 gallons per capita per day.
“These recommended standards help further proactive water conservation and drought planning, especially in the face of long-term climate impacts,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth.
For more information on the recommended indoor residential water use standard or published study, please visit DWR’s Water Use Efficiency webpage.
