San Diego County sweltered in record October heat, but water use came in 19 percent lower than in October 2013, the San Diego County Water Authority reported Wednesday.
Countywide conservation efforts resulted in the fifth straight month of large declines, according to the water authority. The agency reported that, from June through October combined, water use in the region was down 26 percent compared to two years ago.
State water officials set 2013 usage totals as the baseline when establishing conservation targets. The region’s state-mandated conservation goal is 20 percent, though individual water districts have higher and lower targets.
October’s saving was just one percentage point shy of the goal, but San Diego’s average over the past five months is well over the benchmark.
“The region made another impressive effort to conserve water during an extremely hot month,” said Mark Weston, chairman of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors.
“Since state emergency water-use regulations took effect in June, we have beaten the state’s conservation goals as a region, and we will continue to work closely with our member agencies to build on our successes in the months ahead,” Weston said.
The success came in a month when temperatures at Lindbergh Field were about 8 degrees above average for the month. In October 2013, temperatures at San Diego’s official reporting station were slightly below normal, according to the SDCWA.
The state mandates to cut back on water use are in effect through February. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order to extend the conservation effort through October of next year, if drought conditions persist over the next few months.
City News Service contributed to this article.
