California Tries to Measure Water Use as Drought Worsens.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-25/california-tries-to-measure-water-use-as-drought-worsens.html

State and local officials in California are struggling to track water use as Governor Jerry Browncalls for a 20 percent drop in consumption to alleviate a record drought.

The State Water Resources Control Board, for instance, reported usage in Santa Ana soared 63.6 percent in May from the average of corresponding months in 2011-2013, while the city said the increase was 7 percent. In Garden Grove, the public works director said use fell 14.4 percent in the month, contrary to the 31.5 percent increase attributed by the state agency.

“Despite our longstanding water problems, we don’t accurately report and measure water in any sector -- urban or agricultural,” said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland-based nonprofit that advocates for water conservation. “That makes it difficult to implement programs to conserve water and deal with this crisis.”

The historic drought has Brown and other officials searching for solutions as they levy penalties for over-watering lawns and using a hose without a shut-off valve when washing cars. Last year was the driest on record in California, and 80 percent of the most populous U.S. state is now experiencingextreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a federal website.

In the first six months of this year, downtown Los Angeles received 5.11 inches of rain, compared with an average of 8.59 inches for the period since 2000, according to the National Weather Service. Most of California’s reservoirs are below 50 percent of capacity.

Collecting Data

The control board began collecting data from cities and local water districts in May, in response to anexecutive order from Brown the previous month, calling for immediate action to curb use and better monitor reserves. Errors in the data came from communities and agencies that self-reported their consumption, said George Kostyrko, a control board spokesman.

Of the 440 urban water suppliers surveyed, 276 responded. Few were in San Diego County, the second most-populous in the state, where the countywide water agency objected to the study’s format, Kostyrko said. Beginning Aug. 15, cities and water agencies will be required to report data, and kinks in the information should be worked out, he said.

Such flaws notwithstanding, the agency reported July 15 that consumption statewide rose 1 percent in May, compared with the average of the corresponding months in the three prior years. The biggest increase, 8 percent, was in urban Southern California. Armed with that information, the board voted to authorize $500 penalties for defying conservation rules.