Water consumption in the Golden State has declined. Water districts around the state report a seven-point-five percent drop in use from this time last year. However, the decline has not met with Governor Jerry Brown’s request to decrease water usage by 20 percent. In July, the State Water Resources Control Board enacted fines up to 500-dollars a day for water wasters. Water officials now say they are considering tougher penalties in the near future. But not everyone in the state is wasting water, Nevada Irrigation District reports their customers continue to do a good job. Water savings April 1st through August 31 this year compared to last is 16 percent and water savings during the month of august alone was 18.1 percent.
This is measured by the output from NID water treatment plants and does not include ag water use.
NID water storage is holding up well. As of Sept. 3 they had 165,000 acre-feet of water in storage, 87 percent of average for the date.