California water conservation hit 27% in August

Californians reduced their water consumption by 27 percent in August, barely beating Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandate of 25 percent, state officials said Thursday.

The State Water Resources Control Board, in its monthly tally of urban water conservation, said the savings rate for August was somewhat less impressive than July, when the figure hit 31.4 percent.

“We must all keep up the good work because no one knows how much longer this historic drought will continue,” said board chair Felicia Marcus in a prepared statement.

All told, savings have averaged 28.7 percent, compared to the same period two years ago, since mandatory cutbacks took effect June 1. The governor’s order, designed to save 1.2 million acre-feet of water, is in effect until next February. So far Californians have saved 611,566 acre-feet, putting them halfway toward meeting the goal.

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 9:00 AM.