Cal Water Stockton customers saved 22 percent from June through February, exceeding their state mandate of 20 percent. Cal Water customers already used less water per capita than most other local providers, making the 22 percent reduction even more impressive.

It took some aggressive new policies to get the job done. For the first time, each Cal Water household was assigned a water “budget” based on previous usage. If you exceeded your budget, you paid a surcharge.