Water Conservation Improved In September But Is Still Worse Than In 2015

Californians halted a three-month slide in water conservation in September, saving enough to hearten state regulators who previously had expressed alarm about possible drought fatigue. Residents and businesses cut their water consumption by 18.3% in September compared with the same month in 2013. The savings represented a slight uptick from the 17.5% reduction urban Californians managed in August. “I am glad to see the slide stop, and even reverse a bit overall, especially as we move into traditionally lower water-use months when we would expect [savings] percentages to drop significantly,” State Water Resources Control Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said in a statement.