SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s drought is deteriorating, yet residents have used more water in March than every month since 2015, denying claims for protection by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other authorities, government officials said. Tuesday.
Water use jumped nearly 19% in March compared to 2020, one of the driest months in history. Last summer, Newsom asked residents to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 15% compared to 2020. It encouraged people to water their yards less frequently, run fewer dishwashers and install more efficient appliances.
The level of protection of the state is gradually increasing, aided by some intense autumn and early winter storms, which reduce water demand. But the first three months of 2022 are some of the driest ever recorded. Water use increased slightly in January and February before exploding in March compared to 2020 figures.
Since July, the state has reduced its total water consumption by only 3.7%.
Newsham responded to the news by promising to spend an additional $ 26 million on water conservation programs, in addition to the $ 190 million it proposed in January. In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garsetti announced that residents and businesses will have to reduce outdoor watering from three days a week to two. Irrigation accounts for 35% of the city’s water consumption.
A series of April storms slightly improved March. However, most of the country’s reservoirs are well below their historical averages. These reservoirs rely on melting snow to fill during the dry summer months, but the nationwide snow cover was only 27% of its historical average as of April 1st.
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