In May 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted an emergency regulation for statewide water conservation. The regulation established water conservation standards for each urban water supplier in California, in order to achieve a statewide 25 percent reduction in potable water use. Individual water suppliers' conservation standards were established based upon residential per capita water use; these conservation standards range from 8 percent to 36 percent.
The collective conservation savings required from the BAWSCA agencies to achieve their individual conservation standards is 15% as compared to 2013 water use. During the 9-month period that the regulation has been in effect (June 2015 through February 2016), our agencies’ cumulative water savings is at 27% - a total of 16.93 billion gallons.
