SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A severe drought prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to ask people to voluntarily cut water use by 15%. Data released Tuesday shows most aren't doing that.
Californians reduced their water by 3.9% in September. That's down from 5.1% in August.
Overall, California has reduced its water consumption by just 3.6% since July, when Newsom made the request.
Water agencies say many people permanently reduced their water use during the last drought. They say further savings will take more time and money to achieve.
California’s most recent “water year,” which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, was the second-driest on record in terms of statewide precipitation.
California had its warmest ever statewide average monthly temperatures in October 2020 and June and July 2021, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s national Centers for Environmental Information.
