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 Sweetwater Authority
- Water consumption in the Sweetwater Authority increased 1.18 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016. Overall, consumption in August has decreased 16.60 percent over the past five years.
- August 2013 507 million gallons
- August 2014 414 million gallons
- August 2015 418 million gallons
- August 2016 423 million gallons
- August 2017 414 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
Average daily water consumption by each residential customer
- About 71.0% of water consumption in the Sweetwater Authority is residential. The average daily gallons used by each residential customer increased 1.18 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
- 51.60
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
- 51.00
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
Year-over-year water consumption
- 2013 441 million gallons
- 2015 433 million gallons
- 2016 387 million gallons
- 2013 420 million gallons
- 2015 438 million gallons
- 2016 397 million gallons
- 2013 527 million gallons
- 2015 498 million gallons
- 2016 433 million gallons
- 2013 574 million gallons
- 2015 513 million gallons
- 2016 459 million gallons
- 2013 650 million gallons
- 2015 492 million gallons
- 2016 480 million gallons
- 2013 669 million gallons
- 2015 498 million gallons
- 2016 519 million gallons
- 2013 681 million gallons
- 2015 497 million gallons
- 2016 569 million gallons
- 2013 699 million gallons
- 2015 526 million gallons
- 2016 572 million gallons
- 2013 648 million gallons
- 2015 493 million gallons
- 2016 516 million gallons
- 2013 592 million gallons
- 2015 489 million gallons
- 2016 530 million gallons
- 2013 527 million gallons
- 2015 428 million gallons
- 2016 472 million gallons
- 2013 507 million gallons
- 2015 418 million gallons
- 2016 423 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
2014 water use data is incomplete and therefore not displayed
Progress toward mandatory water reduction*
- Sweetwater Authority water use decreased by 20.64 percent between June 2015 and February 2016 — the nine months of the initial statewide conservation mandate — achieving a 12 percent reduction.
- 97.116
- billion gallons consumed
- over the same months in 2013.
- 77.069
- 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 Sweetwater Authority to the State Water Resources Control Board.
| Month | Watering Days | Complaints | Follow-up Actions | Warnings Issued | Penalties Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions2 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received5 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received4 | Follow-up Actions4 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2017 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received6 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2017 | Watering Days— | Complaints Received5 | Follow-up Actions4 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received5 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions2 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received5 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received18 | Follow-up Actions13 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received2 | Follow-up Actions2 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions8 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received7 | Follow-up Actions5 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received5 | Follow-up Actions4 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions8 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received7 | Follow-up Actions6 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received4 | Follow-up Actions2 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received9 | Follow-up Actions7 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received14 | Follow-up Actions10 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received21 | Follow-up Actions13 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received36 | Follow-up Actions22 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received33 | Follow-up Actions25 | Warnings Issued3 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received31 | Follow-up Actions26 | Warnings Issued2 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received25 | Follow-up Actions21 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received10 | Follow-up Actions10 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2015 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2015 | Watering Days7 | 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 Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2014 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
Here are some ways you can help conserve water
Repair broken sprinklers
Capture tap water
Wash only full loads
Wash cars with a bucket and sponge
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.