The state of California was able to drop its total water consumption by roughly 10.4% in July when compared to two years ago, as reported by the state’s official water authority.
There were instated new conservation regulations that took effect back in July for the first time for an entire month, such as not letting anyone water any ornamental grass.
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, had requested the residents of the state attempt to reduce their total water usage by over 15% back in the summer of 2021.
The monthly amounts were reported by the State Water Resources Control Board, which utilizes the information given to them from the various urban water suppliers.
“Last summer the savings numbers were slow to ramp up because the governor’s call had just gone into effect. But the most recent numbers show how far we’ve come,” explained one research data expert with the board, Marielle Rhodeiro. “We can see some achievements — quite heartening.”
California residents, on average, consume 104 gallons of water each day throughout the month of July, which is roughly 12 gallons less per day than what was consumed the previous year. The total amount reflected the least amount of water consumed in July since the same month back in 2015 when there was strictly enforced mandatory water use cuts. At that tie, water use dropped to roughly 98 gallons each day per person.
“What a ride it’s been,” expressed board chairman E. Joaquin Esquivel.
“We know that we need to keep the momentum going,” he went on to state, claiming that California is most likely going to deal with yet another winter showing far less snow and rain than is normal.
The state’s major reservoirs, which heavily rely on snowmelt from up in the Sierra Nevadas, are sitting at a far lower level than their expected historical averages; and the snowpack within the state was only sitting at roughly 27% of the historic averages as of the start of April, as reported by Bloomberg.
“Things are in general significantly below historic averages,” explained deputy director for water rights, Eric Ekdahl, to the gathered board. “That trend is continuing, and there’s no clear precipitation on the horizon, with maybe the exception of Southern California, which may see some tropical moisture toward the end of the week.”
The Central Valley, which plays host to the vast majority of the farmland in the state, is currently dealing with a horrid drought, as reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Back in 2021, farms received far less water because of the overall reductions set in place to allow others access to water and to help the environment, reported the Public Policy Institute of California as part of an April statement. the report highlighted that less watering of the fields could result in a notable drop in crop production, which has even more consequences. It is thought that the drought and its ensuing crop declines have caused the loss of over 14,600 jobs and roughly $1.7 billion in profit.
