![]() The study’s author, Shahzeen Attari, said that’s why focusing the restrictions on a specific activity - outdoor watering - instead of a per-capita number makes sense from a policy perspective, at least for the time being. A 2014 study on the perceptions of water use found that people underestimated use by a factor of 2 on average, with large underestimates for high water-use activities. ![]() Part of the challenge facing water managers is that many people don’t have a clear sense of how much they use in a day. Researchers say California’s cities have big potential to use water more efficiently while taking advantage of stormwater and recycled wastewater. “One is, what do we do in the short run by changing our behavior? The second is, what do we do in the long run by changing our appliances, and in particular our outdoor landscaping?”Ĭalifornia California could shrink water use in cities by 30% or more, study finds “There are two components to this,” Gleick said. Those efficiency measures include fixing leaks in water pipes, replacing inefficient washing machines and toilets and replacing lawns with plants suited to California’s dry climate. In fact, a report published earlier this month found that a host of existing technologies and standard practices could improve water efficiency in California by as much as 48%. “Without a doubt, every one of us in our homes could cut our per-person water use quite substantially,” he said. But newer, more high efficient models have reduced that number to less than 1.3 gallons. Gleick said toilets are among the biggest water-users inside the home, and older toilets can use as much as 6 gallons a flush. “Taking landscapes out of it, we could cut indoor water use to 35 gallons per person per day without changing behavior, just with efficient appliances,” said Peter Gleick, co-founder and president emeritus of the Pacific Institute, a water think tank in Oakland. Facing the real risk of those supplies running dry, the MWD’s managers say immediate cuts will help reserves last. (An acre-foot is about enough water to cover a football field to a depth of one foot.)īut the projected supply during the second half of this year is far less - only 250,000 acre-feet. ![]() The number is not arbitrary: Southern California communities that are dependent on water delivered from Northern California by the State Water Project normally demand about 380,000 acre-feet of water between June and December. “We’re trying to preserve everything we can.” “The ballpark figure we’re looking at is getting to the consumption of about 80 gallons per person per day,” said Adel Hagekhalil, the district’s general manager. Currently, the average potable water use across the MWD’s service area - including residential, commercial and industrial water use - amounts to 125 gallons per person per day. Officials said that’s the number needed to conserve critical supplies for health and safety amid worsening drought - and to prevent a full outdoor watering ban as soon as September. When the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California this week unveiled its strictest-ever water restrictions for about 6 million residents, it did so with an urgent goal in mind: a 35% reduction in water consumption, equating to an allocation of about 80 gallons per person per day.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |