Report: Coachella Valley Water District's Conservation Efforts Pay Off

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA - A half-dozen water agencies in Riverside County conserved more in November compared to a year ago, according to figures released Wednesday.

Of 21 agencies reporting, the cities of Hemet, Indio and Norco, along with the Coachella Valley Water District, the Eastern Municipal Water District and the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District, achieved a higher rate of conservation compared to the same period in 2015.

The numbers represent how much was saved using November 2013 as the base period against which all measurements are compared, under a formula established by the State Water Resources Control Board.

The majority of water agencies countywide were within 10 percentage points of their previous year-over-year savings. However, in a few cases, agencies were off by double digits.

The largest disparity was recorded by the city of Perris, which was nearly 18 percentage points below its year-ago savings. The Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District was next, with a 14 percent gap.

The Temecula-based Mission Springs Water District's conservation rate was not even a whole number, but that figure, -8.1 percent, was close to what had been recorded at the same time in 2015.

The Idyllwild Water District, the Salton Community Services Water District and the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency are not counted in the state's tally. Those agencies don't serve enough customers -- fewer than 3,000 each -- and hence are exempted by the state from consumption reports.

Drops in monthly water savings have been expected after hundreds of agencies statewide began resetting their conservation standards based on results of so-called "stress tests" in June. The tests gauged whether agencies could "bank" enough water to meet demand in the event of another three "dry years" with below-average precipitation during California's rainy season.

State Water Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said the latest results statewide revealed "Californians are continuing to conserve."

According to the State Water Resources Control Board, statewide water savings totaled 18.8 percent in November, compared to 19.6 percent in October and 20.2 percent in November 2015 -- all of which was measured against consumption levels in the same months of 2013. The cumulative savings between June 2015 and November 2016 was 2.35 million acre-feet -- 764.8 billion gallons -- of water.

In April 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order mandating a 25 percent reduction in state water use until Feb. 29 of this year. The statewide target fell just short, coming in at 23.9 percent. Brown issued a revised order toward the end of last winter that kept mandatory cuts in place, but with modified conservation targets that more closely reflected individual agencies' supply and demand realities.

The new self-determined targets came into being thanks to the stress tests and will remain in effect until February.

Ordinances enacted by the water board based on the governor's order are still valid, including restricting how some outdoor watering takes place, such as a prohibition against the hosing down of sidewalks, and limiting how some businesses use water.

– By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock