A severe drought prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom last summer to ask the state’s nearly 40 million residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% this year. New data released Tuesday shows few people are doing that.
Californians reduced their water use by a measly 3.9% in September, down from 5.1% in August. Overall, California has reduced its water consumption by just 3.6% since July, when Newsom made the request.
“It’s not the news we want to see, for sure,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board.
A megadrought fueled by climate change has enveloped much of the West. As California heads into what traditionally is its wettest time of the year, 80% of the state is classified as in extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories.
