Sacramentans keep saving water despite end of conservation mandate

Sacramento area residents continued to save water in June despite the end of state-ordered drought restrictions.

The Sacramento Regional Water Authority, an umbrella group representing water agencies in a five-county area, said Thursday that the region’s residents cut water usage by 22 percent last month compared with June 2013, the baseline month. The results were calculated from data submitted by the region’s 22 water agencies to the State Water Resources Control Board. The statewide tally isn’t yet available.

Area officials said the results were impressive, given the state board’s decision in May to end the mandatory cutbacks ordered a little more than a year ago. Despite the lifting of the state mandate, most agencies in the region are still asking residents to conserve.

“The June savings rate is absolutely remarkable,” said Amy Talbot, water efficiency program manager at the regional authority, in a prepared statement. “State-mandated conservation has ended, and yet residents are continuing to use less water.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Sacramentans keep saving water despite end of conservation mandate."