SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Water use in drought-stricken California plunged by record levels in May, and Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration cited that as proof cities can hit steep summer conservation targets they have blasted as unfair.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday released data showing urban water usage fell 29 percent in May compared to the same month in 2013. The savings were the best showing since the agency started tracking conservation last summer.
Regulators cautioned the savings may have been skewed by unusual May rains that reduced lawn watering. But they also credited heightened awareness about the four-year drought after the governor imposed sweeping mandatory conservation measures following April’s record low snowpack measurement.
Every region of California had stepped up from what had been lackluster cutbacks. The southern coast, where more than half of California lives in cities including Los Angeles and San Diego, cut water use by a quarter after months of tepid savings.
“It’s gratifying that far more communities are stepping up, and we want to see this much more through the summer,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. “It’s just being prudent.”