The City of Long Beach missed its goal of 16 percent conservation for the second month in a row, reducing water use by just 10 percent in December 2015 compared to the city’s water use in December 2013, and averaging a cumulative conservation rate of 16 percent for the last seven months.
The city’s goal is to meet the state mandate of 16 percent water conservation by February.
“The winter rains cannot allow us to ease up on conservation,” said Frank Martinez, president of the Board of Water Commissioners in a statement announcing the latest conservation numbers. “We are still in a serious drought, and we need to continue with serious savings to hit our 16 percent statewide mandate.”
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) recently announced the state missing its goal for the second month in a row, with a 20.3 percent conservation rate in November. However, the SWRCB stated the state is still on track to meet its cumulative conservation goal of 25 percent.
Residents in Long Beach are urged to take every precaution available to reduce water use, especially in the current season, which involves a lower water usage anyway. Turning off sprinklers during and after rainstorms is one way to contribute. One easy way to do this is taking advantage of the rebates available for rain barrels ($75 rebate) and weather-based irrigation controllers ($120 rebate) that automatically shut sprinklers off when it rains, according to the Long Beach Water Board (LBWD). Limited funding is provided on a first-come/first-served basis at www.socalwatersmart.com.
“If every resident in Long Beach saves just 10 more gallons of water each week, our conservation savings will increase by 1 percent,” said Chris Garner, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “Every small action you can do indoors and outdoors makes a difference.”
Long Beach’s December numbers were down from the 11.6 percent reduction in November, and the 16.3 percent reduction in an unusually hot October.
The final breakdown of numbers for the past few months is as follows:
- June 2015, 19 percent reduction
- July 2015, 19 percent reduction
- August 2015, 17.7 percent reduction
- September 2015, 18.6 percent reduction
- October 2015, 16.3 percent reduction
- November 2015, 11.6 percent reduction
- December 2015, 9.8 percent reduction
To learn more on how to conserve water, visit Long Beach Water’s “MissionH2OLB” conservation campaign at www.lbwater.org/mission.