Californians miss state's mandatory water savings mark by 3 percent

 

FRESNO, Calif. --

Californians posted a 22 percent savings in water use in October, marking the first month residents have missed the state's mandatory 25 percent conservation target since enforcement of the cutbacks began in June, officials said Tuesday.

Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resource Control Board, said she had anticipated the dip in savings because October temperatures were exceptionally warm, driving up the watering of yards.

Still, Marcus said California is meeting its long-term water conservation target. For the five months combined, residents have saved 27 percent.

The mandate to conserve came as California experiences its driest four-year span on record. Gov. Jerry Brown called for the 25 percent reduction compared to the same period of 2013, the year before he declared a drought emergency.

"I think people have gotten the message," Marcus said.

The state has reported that California is more than halfway toward its conservation goal for the period ending in February. Statewide cutbacks amounted to 26 percent in September, 27 percent in August, 31 percent in July and 27 percent in June.

In September, state officials for the first time fined four water suppliers for failing to meet their individual conservation targets. Beverly Hills, Indio, Redlands and the Coachella Valley Water District were each fined $61,000. Continued violations could lead to a cease-and-desist order with potential fines of $10,000 a day.

Brown, uncertain if drought-busting storms are coming this winter, recently extended his executive order preparing the state for a fifth year of drought. It allows emergency conservation to continue through October 2016 if dry conditions persist this January.

He took the action despite forecasters predicting a strong El Nino, an ocean-warming phenomenon that can change weather patterns globally and increase chances of heavy rain and snow pelting California.

So far, below-average rain and snowfall have fallen on the northern Sierra Nevada, while the central Sierra has received above average precipitation, said Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

It is too early to know what the wet season will ultimately deliver, he said.

"Every El Nino can be a little different," Shoemaker said. "There is a long way to go in this season."