Californians emerged from the driest January, February and March on record with the biggest jump in water use since the drought began: a nearly 19% increase in March compared to two years earlier.
Despite the urgent pleas of water officials, California’s water use in March is the highest since 2015, standing in stark contrast to February, when residents and businesses used virtually the same amount of water in cities and towns as two years ago.
The massive increase shrank conservation gains made since last summer, according to data released today by the State Water Resources Control Board: During the period from last July through March, Californians used 3.7% less water than during the same stretch in 2020.
The latest data is a rebuke of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request last July that Californians voluntarily cut back their water use by 15%. At the end of March, he ordered water systems to step up their drought responses statewide, but left the details to the locals.
The largest increases, nearly 27%, came in the Los Angeles basin and San Diego County, as well as the desert regions of southeast California that include Palm Springs and the Imperial Valley. Residents and businesses in southern Sierra Nevada communities used about 23% more water than in 2020, and the Central Coast followed close behind with a 20% rise. The only savings came in the North Coast region, which used 4.3% less water. Even the San Francisco Bay Area had a 2.5% increase.
While the data reflects water used by residents and industries statewide, it does not include agriculture, which accounts for roughly 40% of the total water used in the state.
The record dry spell came during what should have been some of the wettest months of the year, so residents resorted to more watering of their lawns and gardens, which soak up about half of the water used in cities and towns.