In keeping with a trend that has taken place over the last four months, the state of California missed its monthly goal of 25 percent water conservation in December, in comparison to December 2013, finishing the month with 18.3 percent water savings.
Like Long Beach, which managed to eke out 16 percent cumulative savings at the close of December (its cumulative goal) after missing its monthly target, the state still held a 25.5 percent cumulative water conservation rate after missing its monthly goal for the fourth month in a row.
“While the recent rains and growing snowpack are wonderful to behold, we won’t know until spring what effect it will have on the bottom line for California’s unprecedented drought,” said Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in a statement. “Until we can tally that ledger, we have to keep conserving water every way we can. Every drop saved today is one that we may be very glad we have tomorrow.”
According to a release from the SWRCB, the statewide conservation rate for December was down from the 20.4 percent savings recorded in November. The drop in the conservation rate was expected during the cooler fall and winter months, when less water in general is used by Californians and less of an opportunity exists to save on outdoor water use, compared to the hot summer months.
The SWRCB reminded state residents to stick to their city’s water directives, including complying with once-a-week watering schedules during this time of year.
Statewide, the 25.5 percent cumulative water savings, tracked from June to December, equate to 1.1 million acre-feet of water saved. According to the SWRCB, this puts the state 91 percent of the way to meeting the 1.2 million acre-feet savings goal set for February 2016.
In December, just 60 percent of water suppliers statewide met their mandated conservation rate, the lowest level of water provider compliance to date.
The SWRCB also noted that December’s average water use was the second-lowest per-person rate observed since the organization commenced reporting requirements, with 67 residential gallons per capita per day, down from 76 gallons per person per day in November.
In comparison, Long Beach’s numbers for the past six months are 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.