SACRAMENTO >> California’s water conservation habits are slipping as winter rains begin to ease but not yet end the state’s historic drought.
The state’s urban residents cut water use by 18.3 percent in December, compared to December 2013. That’s down from 20.4 percent in November and is the lowest percentage saved in any month since June, when Gov. Jerry Brown’s order took effect requiring cities and water agencies across California to reduce water use 25 percent or face fines and penalties.
State water officials noted Tuesday, however, that because of huge savings by California residents who turned off lawn sprinklers during the hot summer months, in the seven months between June and December, Californians have cumulatively cut water use 25.5 percent, meeting the governor’s goal so far.
“I think the message has held,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento. “People understand and have a much more sophisticated view despite the precipitation, as weird as it seems to be saying we need to conserve until we know where we are.”
Marcus said she is hopeful the cumulative conservation rate will continue to hit the 25 percent target through February and that the rain and snow will continue to fall.
“We are in field goal range, but we want a touchdown,” she said.
So far, since June, the state has saved 1.087 million acre feet of water, enough for 5.4 million people a year. That’s enough to fill Folsom Reservoir, one of the state’s largest. The state’s goal is to save 1.2 million acre feet by February compared to 2013, the state’s baseline year.
Regular rain and snow from one of the strongest El Niño events ever recorded have begun to fill reservoirs in Northern California and have left the Sierra snowpack at its best level in five years.
But because of the very deep rainfall deficit over the past four years, many major reservoirs are still not yet up to their historic average level for this time of year. More broadly, the El Niño weather systems that have soaked Northern California have mostly missed Southern California.
On Tuesday, San Francisco was at 100 percent of normal rainfall for this date. But Los Angeles was at only 58 percent.
That dry weather in the south showed up in Tuesday’s conservation numbers.
Overall, customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power cut water use 13.7 percent in December compared with December 2013. But Bay Area residents did much better. Customers of the San Jose Water Company reduced use 30.2 percent in December, while Contra Costa Water District slashed use 34.6 percent. East Bay Municipal Utility District cut use 22.2 percent, Santa Cruz 30.8 percent and Palo Alto 25.9 percent.
Given the healthy level of rainfall so far this winter, state water board officials were set to vote Tuesday afternoon on a plan to slightly relax water targets for cities and water district by allowing modest reductions in those targets for places with hot climates or places that have developed alternative water supplies, such as recycled water.
Dave Bolland, a spokesman for the Association of California Water Agencies, said the rain is wonderful but is presenting a challenge in convincing Californians to continue to conserve.
“We have a communications conundrum,” he said. “It’s difficult to message with the kind of rain that we are seeing.”
