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 Sacramento County Water Agency
- Water consumption in the Sacramento County Water Agency increased 14.08 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016. Overall, consumption in August has decreased 14.32 percent over the past five years.
- August 2013 623 million gallons
- August 2014 510 million gallons
- August 2015 468 million gallons
- August 2016 534 million gallons
- August 2017 510 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
Average daily water consumption by each residential customer
- About 73.0% of water consumption in the Sacramento County Water Agency is residential. The average daily gallons used by each residential customer increased 7.22 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
- 69.80
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
- 65.10
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
Year-over-year water consumption
- 2013 462 million gallons
- 2015 532 million gallons
- 2016 447 million gallons
- 2013 557 million gallons
- 2015 476 million gallons
- 2016 439 million gallons
- 2013 846 million gallons
- 2015 734 million gallons
- 2016 507 million gallons
- 2013 1051 million gallons
- 2015 758 million gallons
- 2016 729 million gallons
- 2013 1357 million gallons
- 2015 885 million gallons
- 2016 964 million gallons
- 2013 1534 million gallons
- 2015 899 million gallons
- 2016 1236 million gallons
- 2013 1761 million gallons
- 2015 1022 million gallons
- 2016 1393 million gallons
- 2013 1606 million gallons
- 2015 1022 million gallons
- 2016 1366 million gallons
- 2013 1358 million gallons
- 2015 908 million gallons
- 2016 1182 million gallons
- 2013 1214 million gallons
- 2015 812 million gallons
- 2016 831 million gallons
- 2013 876 million gallons
- 2015 522 million gallons
- 2016 562 million gallons
- 2013 623 million gallons
- 2015 468 million gallons
- 2016 534 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
2014 water use data is incomplete and therefore not displayed
Progress toward mandatory water reduction*
- Sacramento County Water Agency water use decreased by 34.01 percent between June 2015 and February 2016 — the nine months of the initial statewide conservation mandate — achieving a 32 percent reduction.
- 185.421
- billion gallons consumed
- over the same months in 2013.
- 122.365
- 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 Sacramento County Water Agency to the State Water Resources Control Board.
| Month | Watering Days | Complaints | Follow-up Actions | Warnings Issued | Penalties Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions9 | Warnings Issued9 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received17 | Follow-up Actions17 | Warnings Issued17 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received24 | Follow-up Actions24 | Warnings Issued24 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received28 | Follow-up Actions28 | Warnings Issued28 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received27 | Follow-up Actions27 | Warnings Issued27 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received47 | Follow-up Actions47 | Warnings Issued47 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received13 | Follow-up Actions13 | Warnings Issued13 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received10 | Follow-up Actions10 | Warnings Issued10 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received17 | Follow-up Actions17 | Warnings Issued17 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions9 | Warnings Issued9 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued19 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions9 | Warnings Issued9 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received17 | Follow-up Actions17 | Warnings Issued17 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received24 | Follow-up Actions24 | Warnings Issued24 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received29 | Follow-up Actions29 | Warnings Issued29 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued19 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received37 | Follow-up Actions37 | Warnings Issued37 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received47 | Follow-up Actions47 | Warnings Issued47 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2016 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received66 | Follow-up Actions66 | Warnings Issued66 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2016 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received49 | Follow-up Actions49 | Warnings Issued49 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2016 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received60 | Follow-up Actions60 | Warnings Issued60 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2016 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received19 | Follow-up Actions19 | Warnings Issued19 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received15 | Follow-up Actions15 | Warnings Issued15 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received216 | Follow-up Actions216 | Warnings Issued216 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received957 | Follow-up Actions957 | Warnings Issued957 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received924 | Follow-up Actions924 | Warnings Issued924 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received872 | Follow-up Actions872 | Warnings Issued872 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received924 | Follow-up Actions1380 | Warnings Issued1380 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received903 | Follow-up Actions903 | Warnings Issued903 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received451 | Follow-up Actions451 | Warnings Issued451 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2015 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received298 | Follow-up Actions298 | Warnings Issued298 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received184 | Follow-up Actions184 | Warnings Issued184 | 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 Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2014 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2014 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2014 | Watering Days1 | Complaints Received903 | Follow-up Actions903 | Warnings Issued903 | Penalties Assessed— |
Here are some ways you can help conserve water
Use a broom to clean the driveway or sidewalk
Wash cars with a bucket and sponge
Repair leaks
Wash only full loads
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.