The City of San Diego reports that water customers reduced their use by three percent last month, well below the 16 percent the district is expected to conserve under the new drought mandate.
The State Water Resources Control Board approved new restrictions May 5 in an effort to get the state’s overall conservation to 25 percent — the level mandated by Gov. Jerry Brown to help the state handle the ongoing drought.
Under those restrictions, the City of San Diego’s water district, which covers a population of 1.3 million people, must conserve 16 percent from 2013 levels.
On Tuesday, the City of San Diego reported a 3.5 percent drop in water use in April from usage recorded two years ago.
The drop is the first reported by the district this year. Here are the monthly totals for the City of San Diego water district in acre feet:
January 2013: 12,120.2
January 2015: 12606.7
4 % difference
February 2013: 11,259
February 2015: 12,196
8.3% difference
Local
March 2013: 13,810
March 2015: 14,418
4.4% difference
April 2013: 15,421
April 2015: 14,878
-3.5% difference
In its monthly report to the state, the district pointed out that its customers were already conserving water under mandatory water use restrictions in 2013.
The mean temperature last month was also four degrees warmer than April 2013, the report states.
In addition, more than 800 water waster or violators were warned by letter or door hangers. The district said they were alerted to the waste by customer complaints.
Forty-eight customers were fined for their actions.
