Water use in the San Diego region continued to plummet last month, following a trend that started in an unusually wet May, the County Water Authority reported Thursday.
Urban potable water use in June declined by around 26 percent, compared to the same month two years ago, according to the SDCWA.
June was considered the first big test of the willingness of residents to conserve, because it didn’t rain nearly as much as the month before. It was also the first month of state-mandated cutbacks.
“Residents and businesses across San Diego County did a great job saving water in June even though temperatures returned to being higher than normal, but we have to keep it up through the rest of the summer and beyond,” said Mark Weston, chairman of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors.
“I’m so proud to be part of a community that comes together during difficult situations,” he said. “Together, we are making a big difference.”
The SDCWA figures came one day after the city of San Diego reported a 24 percent drop in water use over June 2013, the benchmark comparison set by the State Department of Water Resources.
San Diegans have been asked to cut back on sprinkling their lawns to twice a week, at 5 minutes per station, and to do so before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. They’ve also been asked to not wash their cars between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., use automatic shut-off nozzles on their sprinklers and turn off ornamental fountains.
— City News Service