California Drought: Residents Cut Water Use 21.5 Percent in June Despite Relaxed Drought Rules

The drought rules were relaxed, but Californians didn’t open the spigots.The state’s urban residents are continuing strong water conservation, cutting water use 21.5 percent in June compared with June 2013, the baseline year, despite state officials easing mandatory drought targets earlier this year. The new data was released Tuesday morning by the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento.“It’s maybe not as good as we hoped, but it’s better than we feared with conflicting messages out there,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the board.