A new survey out from the State Water Resources Control Board—the first since emergency water conservation measures (like those $500 fines) were put into place in July—shows that this past July Californians used 7.5 percent less water overall than they had used the previous July, reports KPCC. In the area that includes Los Angeles, as well as Ventura, San Diego, and Orange Counties, water use dropped by 1.7 percent. But then when you look at the list of which places had the biggest increases and decreases in usage, it quickly jumps out that SoCal is not pulling its weight—nine of the 10 water suppliers with the biggest increases in usage were all in SoCal and the 10 suppliers with the biggest decreases were all in NorCal. (This continues a trend.)
Nobody wants to seem like they're wasteful, though. In Whittier, which had the biggest increase, the Director of Public Works chalked the sharp jump in water usage up to the fact that "a nearby city that draws from their water supply accidentally left a valve open," but that must have been some valve—their usage spiked by 20 percent. It's said that the board might consider more "aggressive steps" toward making people conserve in this, the third year of a terrible and scary drought.
· Whittier, Redlands, Hawthorne increase July water use by double digits [SCPR]
· What's Causing California's Worst Drought in Centuries? [Curbed LA]
· SoCal Pissing Off NorCal With Wanton Increases in Water Use [Curbed LA]
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