Manteca’s per capita water use surged 14.6 percent in March as the city’s consumption continued to grow significantly over 2020 even after making adjustments for population gain.

The double-digit gain in year-to-year use comes nine months after Governor Gavin Newsom asked Californians to voluntarily cut water usage by 15 percent based on 2020 consumption levels. So far water use on average in California jurisdictions is down by 6 percent although Manteca clearly isn’t one of them.