This year, urban water use has settled into a pattern: Californians are consuming more water than in 2015 and 2016, when mandatory measures were in place to cut down on use during a five-year drought. At the same time, water use has remained below the levels reported in 2013 and 2014, cheering water regulators who hope to make conservation a habit. July 2017 numbers were released Wednesday by the State Water Resources Control Board, and they fit this pattern for the fifth month running.