In June, state officials ended a mandatory conservation program that had been in place for a year. Absent the program, the state as a whole used 14 billion gallons more this June than June 2015, which was the first month of state-imposed conservation targets. Here in the hottest, most populous part of the state, we used about 2 billion more gallons. Of nearly 200 local agencies reporting, about 8 in 10 used more water.