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 Santa Barbara
- Water consumption in the City Of Santa Barbara decreased 13.76 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016. Overall, consumption in August has decreased 38.12 percent over the past five years.
- August 2013 329 million gallons
- August 2014 212 million gallons
- August 2015 236 million gallons
- August 2016 203 million gallons
- August 2017 212 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
Average daily water consumption by each residential customer
- About 79.0% of water consumption in the City Of Santa Barbara is residential. The average daily gallons used by each residential customer decreased 16.16 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
- 55.50
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
- 66.20
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
Year-over-year water consumption
- 2013 284 million gallons
- 2015 235 million gallons
- 2016 201 million gallons
- 2013 292 million gallons
- 2015 228 million gallons
- 2016 198 million gallons
- 2013 363 million gallons
- 2015 276 million gallons
- 2016 217 million gallons
- 2013 401 million gallons
- 2015 287 million gallons
- 2016 237 million gallons
- 2013 447 million gallons
- 2015 280 million gallons
- 2016 263 million gallons
- 2013 443 million gallons
- 2015 263 million gallons
- 2016 285 million gallons
- 2013 467 million gallons
- 2015 297 million gallons
- 2016 289 million gallons
- 2013 499 million gallons
- 2015 320 million gallons
- 2016 290 million gallons
- 2013 467 million gallons
- 2015 305 million gallons
- 2016 275 million gallons
- 2013 423 million gallons
- 2015 303 million gallons
- 2016 269 million gallons
- 2013 356 million gallons
- 2015 248 million gallons
- 2016 231 million gallons
- 2013 329 million gallons
- 2015 236 million gallons
- 2016 203 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
2014 water use data is incomplete and therefore not displayed
Progress toward mandatory water reduction*
- City Of Santa Barbara water use decreased by 35.28 percent between June 2015 and February 2016 — the nine months of the initial statewide conservation mandate — achieving a 12 percent reduction.
- 66.795
- billion gallons consumed
- over the same months in 2013.
- 43.231
- 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 Santa Barbara to the State Water Resources Control Board.
| Month | Watering Days | Complaints | Follow-up Actions | Warnings Issued | Penalties Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received16 | Follow-up Actions16 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received17 | Follow-up Actions17 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received42 | Follow-up Actions42 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received56 | Follow-up Actions55 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received16 | Follow-up Actions16 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received14 | Follow-up Actions14 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received26 | Follow-up Actions26 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received7 | Follow-up Actions7 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions9 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received16 | Follow-up Actions16 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received17 | Follow-up Actions17 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received42 | Follow-up Actions42 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received56 | Follow-up Actions55 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received47 | Follow-up Actions46 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received38 | Follow-up Actions35 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received44 | Follow-up Actions42 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received39 | Follow-up Actions38 | Warnings Issued16 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received27 | Follow-up Actions27 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received15 | Follow-up Actions13 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received26 | Follow-up Actions26 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed8 |
| MonthJanuary 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received10 | Follow-up Actions10 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received21 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received52 | Follow-up Actions50 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received58 | Follow-up Actions50 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received62 | Follow-up Actions59 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received91 | Follow-up Actions89 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received121 | Follow-up Actions108 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received167 | Follow-up Actions155 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received140 | Follow-up Actions128 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received71 | Follow-up Actions71 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received23 | Follow-up Actions16 | Warnings Issued— | 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
Turn the water off while brushing your teeth
Wash cars with a bucket and sponge
Capture tap water
Repair broken sprinklers
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.