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 West Kern Water District
- Water consumption in the West Kern Water District decreased 13.43 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016. Overall, consumption in August has decreased 11.45 percent over the past five years.
- August 2013 376 million gallons
- August 2014 331 million gallons
- August 2015 385 million gallons
- August 2016 333 million gallons
- August 2017 331 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
Average daily water consumption by each residential customer
- About 13.0% of water consumption in the West Kern Water District is residential. The average daily gallons used by each residential customer increased 5.27 percent in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
- 67.90
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
- 64.50
- average daily gallons
used by each residential
customer for August 2017
Year-over-year water consumption
- 2013 394 million gallons
- 2015 350 million gallons
- 2016 360 million gallons
- 2013 357 million gallons
- 2015 251 million gallons
- 2016 296 million gallons
- 2013 431 million gallons
- 2015 294 million gallons
- 2016 373 million gallons
- 2013 491 million gallons
- 2015 311 million gallons
- 2016 431 million gallons
- 2013 578 million gallons
- 2015 367 million gallons
- 2016 488 million gallons
- 2013 603 million gallons
- 2015 467 million gallons
- 2016 546 million gallons
- 2013 654 million gallons
- 2015 512 million gallons
- 2016 569 million gallons
- 2013 649 million gallons
- 2015 492 million gallons
- 2016 565 million gallons
- 2013 529 million gallons
- 2015 520 million gallons
- 2016 503 million gallons
- 2013 484 million gallons
- 2015 488 million gallons
- 2016 467 million gallons
- 2013 435 million gallons
- 2015 391 million gallons
- 2016 370 million gallons
- 2013 376 million gallons
- 2015 385 million gallons
- 2016 333 million gallons
Displayed in millions of gallons
2014 water use data is incomplete and therefore not displayed
Progress toward mandatory water reduction*
- West Kern Water District water use decreased by 12.99 percent between June 2015 and February 2016 — the nine months of the initial statewide conservation mandate — but the agency failed to meet a 28 percent reduction.
- 83.717
- billion gallons consumed
- over the same months in 2013.
- 72.840
- 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 West Kern Water District to the State Water Resources Control Board.
| Month | Watering Days | Complaints | Follow-up Actions | Warnings Issued | Penalties Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2017 | Watering Days7 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2017 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2016 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthApril 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMarch 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthFebruary 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJanuary 2016 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received1 | Follow-up Actions1 | Warnings Issued1 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received2 | Follow-up Actions2 | Warnings Issued2 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthNovember 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received2 | Follow-up Actions2 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthOctober 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received— | Follow-up Actions— | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthSeptember 2015 | Watering Days2 | Complaints Received6 | Follow-up Actions6 | Warnings Issued— | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthAugust 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received4 | Follow-up Actions4 | Warnings Issued4 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJuly 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued3 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthJune 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received3 | Follow-up Actions3 | Warnings Issued3 | Penalties Assessed— |
| MonthMay 2015 | Watering Days3 | Complaints Received14 | Follow-up Actions13 | Warnings Issued1 | 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 Days7 | 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
Take shorter showers
Repair broken sprinklers
Plant California Friendly plants
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.