California wants you to stop using so much water, but Sacramento has a long way to go

State and local officials have been urging for more water conservation as California confronts persistent drought conditions and scarce water supplies, but Sacramento’s progress to replenishment has a long way to go.

In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked California residents to cut back on water usage and encouraged local water suppliers to enter Level 2 of their water shortage contingency plan, which calls for 20% water reduction and outlines local restrictions.

Snow levels and rainfall totals have been low in the state, with the Sierra Nevada confronting its driest period on record in more than 100 years, from January to March, according to the Department of Water Resources.

The city of Sacramento has been in Level 2 since August, requiring residents to follow a watering schedule and doubling rebates for adopting water-saving techniques.

But the city is barely making way to the 20% mark.

Carlos Eliason, media and communications specialist for the city’s department of utilities, said Sacramento reduced its water use by 8% between July 2021 and April 2022, compared to 2020.

“However, it’s important to know that because of the City’s watering ordinance, which has been in place since 2017, customers are already 20 to 30 percent less water when compared to the last drought from 2013-2017,” he said.

The 2017 ordinance limited landscape watering and restricted water waste.

Eliason said that while the city is asking residents to reduce their personal water use, Sacramento is also saving water on the city level. This includes decreasing the watering of parks and cemeteries, reducing street sweeping and increasing waterways patrol.

The patrol, a group from the city’s water conservation team, scopes residential and business areas for wasteful water usage and will notify individuals or fine them, Eliason said. Fines have doubled now that the city is in its second stage of its water shortage plan, and range from $50-$1,000.

How’s the Sacramento region doing?

The Regional Water Authority, which represents 20 water providers that serve 2 million people in the Sacramento region, urged for water reductions by 15% in 2021. Several RWA members, including the city of Sacramento, Folsom and Roseville have asked residents to reduce by 20%.

Amy Talbot, water efficiency project manager at the water authority, said in an email that the Sacramento region has reduced its water usage by 5.5% from July 2021 through March 2022, compared to previous years.

“To put recent water reductions into perspective: The July-March reductions are in addition to a 13 percent decrease in regional water use since the 2012-16 drought,” Talbot said. “Over the longer term, overall water use in the Sacramento region has remained steady over the past two decades even though the population has increased.”

Statewide water conservation is taking an opposite turn, as water usage rose in March by 7%. This is an increase of 14%, compared to March 2020 and is the most water used by urban California residents in March since 2015, according to the State Water Resources Conservation Board.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 11:38 AM.