In a summer marked by extreme heat, dwindling resources and mandatory drought restrictions, Long Beach residents conserved water at an increasing rate from May through September, continuously outpacing Los Angeles county and the state.

Water use for the city’s roughly 466,000 residents decreased by 15% in September compared with the same month in 2020, the baseline year at which current savings are measured because it’s the year the current drought began.

The savings happened even as temperatures soared during the late summer heatwave. September was the fifth consecutive month of record savings, following a 4% reduction in May, 11% in June, 14% in July and 15% in August.

In comparison, Los Angeles County was less successful, using 10% less water in August, and statewide savings were even worse, just 4%. Data on California’s water consumption for September has not yet been released.

“I’m continually encouraged and impressed by the consideration and dedication Long Beach shows when it comes to conservation,” said Gloria Cordero, incoming president of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners in a release. “We’re in a water crisis and our community is stepping up. Long Beach remains a leader in sustainability, and our efforts have a more significant impact than ever.”

Long Beach residents are heeding the call when it comes to saving water and are perfectly on par with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s challenge to Californians last July to voluntarily cut back on their water consumption by 15%. Experts say the city is leading in public outreach and acknowledgment of the ongoing water crisis, but conservation alone is not enough.

As the climate changes, weather patterns in California have become increasingly unpredictable, said Benjamin Hagedorn, associate professor and geochemist within the Department of Geological Sciences at Cal State Long Beach. In order to keep up with the increasing volatility, the city will have to reduce its reliance on key water resources like the Colorado River, which has already seen cuts in its supply and increase its use of recycled water, Hagedorn said.

Roughly 60% of the Long Beach potable water supply comes from local groundwater, and the rest is purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region’s water wholesaler. Twenty-five percent comes from the Colorado River, and the rest comes from Northern California’s Bay Delta region, according to the Long Beach Water Department.

More pressure was placed on the city to expand its local groundwater supply last month when an emergency repair caused the Upper Feeder pipeline, which transports water from the Colorado River to Southern California, to be shut down for 15 days. The restriction affected more than four million residents, including those in Long Beach, and may have contributed to its decreased water use throughout the month.

Though the city has been a regional leader in conservation, Hagedorn said improving the city’s use of recycled water and minimizing stormwater runoff, which pollutes the local water supply, will be necessary to reduce the city’s reliance on outside water sources.

“By and large, the goal of Long Beach is to focus and hope that the local groundwater resource will be viable enough and of high quality that it can be used for future water supply,” said Hagedorn. The Long Beach Water Department has done a great job at engaging the community in its conservation efforts and offering resources that have significantly lowered its water consumption, he said.

The city has seen its lowest level of water use in decades, said Lauren Gold, spokesperson for the Long Beach Water Department. Residents here use 63 gallons a day on average compared to the regional average of 94 gallons per person per day.

Long Beach residents have consistently used less water since the department entered Stage 2 of its water shortage plan and limited outdoor watering to two days per week, she said. “We expect that we’ll remain in Stage 2 for the remainder of the year and until regional water supply conditions have improved.”

The department credits some of the city’s water conservation to the wide array of programs they have available to assist residents in using their water efficiently, whether through installing drought-tolerant plants in their yards or switching to efficient appliances at a low cost.

This year alone, the city has received 307 applications for its Lawn-to-Garden Program, which gives residents and businesses an incentive to replace their grass turf with a drought-friendly garden. That is compared to 176 applications for all of 2021 and 201 applications in 2020, according to Gold.

“Water-efficient landscapes use about half the amount of water that grass turf uses, making programs such as Lawn-to-Garden one of the most effective ways to reduce overall water demand in our city,” she said.

General awareness of the problem has also contributed greatly, said Gold. This year, the city has received 3,148 reports of inefficient water use from residents compared to 1,291 reports in 2021 and 1,188 reports in 2020.

The city is gearing up to accept more applications for its water use efficiency programs and rebates to help low-income residents switch their indoor and outdoor home appliances to new, water-efficient ones and expects that residents will continue saving water at an increased rate.

According to Gold, Long Beach water use is spread roughly evenly among single-family homes, multi-family residences and local businesses. The city’s water conservation website, LiveH2OLB.com, offers residents and businesses water-saving tips and resources to improve their daily operations.

The city is working to increase its access to local groundwater, which is cheaper to acquire and more resilient to drought, by building 12 new groundwater wells throughout the city, investing in recycled water projects and by partnering with neighboring agencies to increase access to local and regional water supply, she said.

According to Hagedorn, whose work is focused on the effect that climate change has on water resources, recycled water will be the key to ensuring a sustainable future especially by using treated wastewater to irrigate public spaces like parks and golf courses.

“(The drought) will never get better. It’s like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube,” he said. However, if residents can continue to be conscious and efficient about their water use, they can protect the local water resources that are available.

Long Beach looks to shore up vital groundwater supply as state sinks deeper into drought