Wednesday December 8, 2021
Courthouse News Service —
Revisiting valuable habits learned during the previous drought, California cities and businesses slashed water use over 13% in October compared to a year ago.
Though still shy of Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for a 15% cut in urban water use, the state’s drought regulator said the latest figure indicates Californians are returning to their stingy ways at the tap.
“These numbers are very heartening and it’s good to see that Californians are responding,” said Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board.
Due to rapidly diminishing reservoir levels, Newsom issued an executive order in July calling on residents to reduce water use by 15%. But for the first few months, the message didn’t hit home with the state’s nearly 40 million residents.