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 Rancho California Water District
- Water consumption in the Rancho California Water District increased 2.86 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016. Overall, consumption in August has decreased 32.53 percent over the past five years.
- August 2013 1255 million gallons
- August 2014 646 million gallons
- August 2015 559 million gallons
- August 2016 575 million gallons
- August 2017 646 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
Average daily water consumption by each residential customer
- About 71.0% of water consumption in the Rancho California Water District is residential. The average daily gallons used by each residential customer decreased 11.30 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
- 109.90
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
- 123.90
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
Year-over-year water consumption
- 2013 695 million gallons
- 2015 725 million gallons
- 2016 486 million gallons
- 2013 546 million gallons
- 2015 1233 million gallons
- 2016 564 million gallons
- 2013 897 million gallons
- 2015 1579 million gallons
- 2016 640 million gallons
- 2013 1075 million gallons
- 2015 1797 million gallons
- 2016 795 million gallons
- 2013 1347 million gallons
- 2015 1365 million gallons
- 2016 895 million gallons
- 2013 1455 million gallons
- 2015 1131 million gallons
- 2016 1183 million gallons
- 2013 1564 million gallons
- 2015 911 million gallons
- 2016 1206 million gallons
- 2013 1626 million gallons
- 2015 1220 million gallons
- 2016 1317 million gallons
- 2013 1526 million gallons
- 2015 980 million gallons
- 2016 1158 million gallons
- 2013 1238 million gallons
- 2015 884 million gallons
- 2016 1007 million gallons
- 2013 886 million gallons
- 2015 701 million gallons
- 2016 779 million gallons
- 2013 852 million gallons
- 2015 559 million gallons
- 2016 575 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
2014 water use data is incomplete and therefore not displayed
Progress toward mandatory water reduction*
- Rancho California Water District water use decreased by 28.75 percent between June 2015 and February 2016 — the nine months of the initial statewide conservation mandate — but the agency failed to meet a 36 percent reduction.
- 191.915
- billion gallons consumed
- over the same months in 2013.
- 136.735
- 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 Rancho California Water District to the State Water Resources Control Board.
| Month | Watering Days | Complaints | Follow-up Actions | Warnings Issued | Penalties Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received10 | Follow-up Actions10 | Warnings Issued10 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received28 | Follow-up Actions38 | Warnings Issued38 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received40 | Follow-up Actions40 | Warnings Issued39 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received21 | Follow-up Actions16 | Warnings Issued16 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received26 | Follow-up Actions44 | Warnings Issued44 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received26 | Follow-up Actions25 | Warnings Issued25 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received14 | Follow-up Actions17 | Warnings Issued17 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received35 | Follow-up Actions47 | Warnings Issued47 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received34 | Follow-up Actions31 | Warnings Issued31 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received43 | Follow-up Actions72 | Warnings Issued72 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received26 | Follow-up Actions35 | Warnings Issued35 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received37 | Follow-up Actions32 | Warnings Issued32 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received10 | Follow-up Actions10 | Warnings Issued10 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received28 | Follow-up Actions38 | Warnings Issued38 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received40 | Follow-up Actions40 | Warnings Issued39 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received21 | Follow-up Actions16 | Warnings Issued16 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received31 | Follow-up Actions35 | Warnings Issued35 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received34 | Follow-up Actions27 | Warnings Issued27 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2016 | Watering Days6 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions18 | Warnings Issued18 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received24 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued19 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received30 | Follow-up Actions30 | Warnings Issued20 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received32 | Follow-up Actions33 | Warnings Issued33 | Penalties Assessed1 |
| MonthFebruary 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received25 | Follow-up Actions24 | Warnings Issued24 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received35 | Follow-up Actions32 | Warnings Issued32 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received15 | Follow-up Actions8 | Warnings Issued8 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received27 | Follow-up Actions20 | Warnings Issued20 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received64 | Follow-up Actions34 | Warnings Issued34 | Penalties Assessed1 |
| MonthSeptember 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received97 | Follow-up Actions51 | Warnings Issued51 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received119 | Follow-up Actions57 | Warnings Issued57 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received109 | Follow-up Actions83 | Warnings Issued83 | Penalties Assessed1 |
| MonthJune 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received109 | Follow-up Actions83 | Warnings Issued83 | Penalties Assessed1 |
| MonthMay 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received41 | Follow-up Actions41 | Warnings Issued41 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received54 | Follow-up Actions54 | Warnings Issued54 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received14 | Follow-up Actions14 | Warnings Issued14 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received7 | Follow-up Actions7 | Warnings Issued7 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received8 | Follow-up Actions8 | Warnings Issued8 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received11 | Follow-up Actions11 | Warnings Issued11 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions9 | Warnings Issued9 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received30 | Follow-up Actions30 | Warnings Issued30 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received26 | Follow-up Actions26 | Warnings Issued26 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received29 | Follow-up Actions29 | Warnings Issued29 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received14 | Follow-up Actions14 | Warnings Issued14 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
Here are some ways you can help conserve water
Wash only full loads
Turn the water off while brushing your teeth
Plant California Friendly plants
Use a broom to clean the driveway or sidewalk
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.