Environment
Is California water use increasing?
Produced by Aaron Mendelson & Chris Keller | Updated Sept. 7, 2016
Sources: California Water Resources Control Board. Built using: django-bakery, underscore.js, backbone.js, leaflet.js, chartist.js & Bootstrap. Circles on a line distribution charts based on CensusReporter charts, design and code created by Ryan Pitts, Joe Germuska, Ian Dees and Sara Schnadt. Icon credits: Waste icon created by Luis Prado and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Washing Machine icon created by Megan Sheehan and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Bucket icon created by Nithin Viswanathan and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Water drop icon created by Diego Naive and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Broom icon created by Anna Weiss and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Clock icon created by Pavel Nikandrov and used via a Public Domain Mark from The Noun Project. Sprinkler icon created by Micah West and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Cactus icon created by Edward Boatman and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution from The Noun Project. Shower icon used via a Public Domain Mark from The Noun Project.
August monthly water use by the City Of San Diego
- Water consumption in the City Of San Diego decreased 6.30 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016. Overall, consumption in August has decreased 20.80 percent over the past five years.
- August 2013 4545 million gallons
- August 2014 3438 million gallons
- August 2015 3820 million gallons
- August 2016 3579 million gallons
- August 2017 3438 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
Average daily water consumption by each residential customer
- About 54.0% of water consumption in the City Of San Diego is residential. The average daily gallons used by each residential customer decreased 8.06 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
- 46.80
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
- 50.90
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
Year-over-year water consumption
- 2013 3924 million gallons
- 2015 4108 million gallons
- 2016 3467 million gallons
- 2013 3644 million gallons
- 2015 3974 million gallons
- 2016 3611 million gallons
- 2013 4475 million gallons
- 2015 4698 million gallons
- 2016 3940 million gallons
- 2013 4997 million gallons
- 2015 4848 million gallons
- 2016 4116 million gallons
- 2013 5705 million gallons
- 2015 4228 million gallons
- 2016 4416 million gallons
- 2013 6051 million gallons
- 2015 4581 million gallons
- 2016 4865 million gallons
- 2013 6393 million gallons
- 2015 4544 million gallons
- 2016 5489 million gallons
- 2013 6348 million gallons
- 2015 4988 million gallons
- 2016 5647 million gallons
- 2013 6074 million gallons
- 2015 4753 million gallons
- 2016 4955 million gallons
- 2013 5519 million gallons
- 2015 4596 million gallons
- 2016 5171 million gallons
- 2013 4657 million gallons
- 2015 4013 million gallons
- 2016 4315 million gallons
- 2013 4519 million gallons
- 2015 3820 million gallons
- 2016 3579 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
2014 water use data is incomplete and therefore not displayed
Progress toward mandatory water reduction*
- City Of San Diego water use decreased by 18.40 percent between June 2015 and February 2016 — the nine months of the initial statewide conservation mandate — achieving a 16 percent reduction.
- 872.305
- billion gallons consumed
- over the same months in 2013.
- 711.809
- billion gallons consumed
- between June 2015 and February 2016.
*: Approved by the State Water Resources Control Board in 2015, the reduction target was meant to achieve a 25 percent reduction in water use statewide. It is tied to an average July through Sept. 2014 daily per capita residential water use rate that placed water agencies into nine tiers.
Enforcement statistics
- Selected enforcement statistics reported by the City Of San Diego to the State Water Resources Control Board.
| Month | Watering Days | Complaints | Follow-up Actions | Warnings Issued | Penalties Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received329 | Follow-up Actions329 | Warnings Issued329 | Penalties Assessed18 |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received398 | Follow-up Actions398 | Warnings Issued398 | Penalties Assessed17 |
| MonthOctober 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received534 | Follow-up Actions534 | Warnings Issued534 | Penalties Assessed15 |
| MonthSeptember 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received587 | Follow-up Actions587 | Warnings Issued587 | Penalties Assessed20 |
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received234 | Follow-up Actions234 | Warnings Issued234 | Penalties Assessed56 |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received276 | Follow-up Actions276 | Warnings Issued276 | Penalties Assessed62 |
| MonthJune 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received313 | Follow-up Actions313 | Warnings Issued313 | Penalties Assessed20 |
| MonthMay 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received214 | Follow-up Actions214 | Warnings Issued214 | Penalties Assessed8 |
| MonthApril 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received308 | Follow-up Actions308 | Warnings Issued308 | Penalties Assessed3 |
| MonthMarch 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received191 | Follow-up Actions191 | Warnings Issued191 | Penalties Assessed20 |
| MonthFebruary 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received165 | Follow-up Actions165 | Warnings Issued165 | Penalties Assessed7 |
| MonthJanuary 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received135 | Follow-up Actions135 | Warnings Issued135 | Penalties Assessed15 |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received329 | Follow-up Actions329 | Warnings Issued329 | Penalties Assessed18 |
| MonthNovember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received398 | Follow-up Actions398 | Warnings Issued398 | Penalties Assessed17 |
| MonthOctober 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received534 | Follow-up Actions534 | Warnings Issued534 | Penalties Assessed15 |
| MonthSeptember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received587 | Follow-up Actions587 | Warnings Issued587 | Penalties Assessed20 |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received472 | Follow-up Actions472 | Warnings Issued472 | Penalties Assessed21 |
| MonthJuly 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received359 | Follow-up Actions359 | Warnings Issued359 | Penalties Assessed17 |
| MonthJune 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received625 | Follow-up Actions625 | Warnings Issued625 | Penalties Assessed21 |
| MonthMay 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received291 | Follow-up Actions291 | Warnings Issued291 | Penalties Assessed13 |
| MonthApril 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received382 | Follow-up Actions382 | Warnings Issued382 | Penalties Assessed15 |
| MonthMarch 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received361 | Follow-up Actions361 | Warnings Issued361 | Penalties Assessed22 |
| MonthFebruary 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received365 | Follow-up Actions365 | Warnings Issued365 | Penalties Assessed37 |
| MonthJanuary 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received269 | Follow-up Actions269 | Warnings Issued269 | Penalties Assessed26 |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received273 | Follow-up Actions273 | Warnings Issued273 | Penalties Assessed22 |
| MonthNovember 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received234 | Follow-up Actions234 | Warnings Issued234 | Penalties Assessed11 |
| MonthOctober 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received494 | Follow-up Actions494 | Warnings Issued494 | Penalties Assessed26 |
| MonthSeptember 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received736 | Follow-up Actions736 | Warnings Issued736 | Penalties Assessed24 |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received980 | Follow-up Actions980 | Warnings Issued980 | Penalties Assessed29 |
| MonthJuly 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received955 | Follow-up Actions955 | Warnings Issued955 | Penalties Assessed10 |
| MonthJune 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received1047 | Follow-up Actions974 | Warnings Issued974 | Penalties Assessed18 |
| MonthMay 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received872 | Follow-up Actions872 | Warnings Issued872 | Penalties Assessed2 |
| MonthApril 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received820 | Follow-up Actions820 | Warnings Issued820 | Penalties Assessed48 |
| MonthMarch 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received372 | Follow-up Actions372 | Warnings Issued2 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2015 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2015 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2014 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
Here are some ways you can help conserve water
Water before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
Wash only full loads
Use a broom to clean the driveway or sidewalk
Repair leaks
About the data: This data is for urban water suppliers and is based on the the most recent reports submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board. Since the gallons of water used per person per day measurement does not take into account rainfall, temperature, humidity and population density, the State Water Resources Control Board discourages comparisons between water suppliers.