Long Beach achieves 20% reduction in per capita water consumption 11 years ahead of 2020 statewide conservation mandate

From the Long Beach Water Department:

“LONG BEACH, CA – The Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners has announced today that the City of Long Beach has set another 10-year record low for water consumption during the month of October. Citywide water demand for the month of October was 17.1 percent below the city’s historical 10-year average, making this the third consecutive October that water use in Long Beach was at a record low level. For the past 12 months, water consumption in Long Beach is tracking at 17.4% below the historical average. October 2009 also represents the seventeenth time out of the last eighteen months that record low water demand has been accomplished in Long Beach.

Even more notable is the fact that with all the conservation the City has accomplished over the past 25 months, Long Beach is already in complete compliance a full 11 years ahead of schedule with the State legislation that was passed earlier this morning and that will now go to the Governor for his signature. The legislation will require urban areas to reduce their per capita water use 20% by the year 2020.

“We’re running out of superlatives to describe the tremendous job that the City of Long Beach has done over the past couple of years to completely change the way they think about and use water, said Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “To comply with California’s 20% conservation requirement more than a decade before the 2020 deadline is an outstanding reflection on all Long Beach citizens who have taken it upon themselves to set an example for the rest of the state,” continued Wattier.

The California Legislature met into the early hours of this morning, hammering out the final amendments on a comprehensive statewide water package that they have been working on for the past year. Both the Senate and Assembly passed four policy bills dealing with Delta Governance, Groundwater monitoring, Water Quality/Diversions and Water Conservation, as well as a fifth bill in the form of a water bond. The bond is slightly more than $11 billion and will go before voters at the November 2010 election.

The Water Conservation bill, SB X7 7, will require that water suppliers reduce the per capita water use in their service areas or regions by 20% by the year 2020.

For Long Beach, this won’t be a problem. They’re already there.

However, others that don’t comply with the mandate could lose access to future state funding sources.

“We are excited to see other areas in California do the same thing we have done here in Long Beach,” said Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “Achieving successful water conservation doesn’t have to be expensive or complex,” added Blanco. “We want others to know that we are here and ready to serve as a valuable resource for those seeking inexpensive, but effective methods of promoting conservation within their cities or regions.”

Long Beach Water Conservation Success Indicators…By the Numbers

Note: The 10-year historical average is from Fiscal Year (FY) 98 – FY 07, which are the 10 years prior the impositions of new water-use restrictions. The 5-year historical average is from FY 03 – FY 07, which are the 5 years prior to the impositions of new water-use restrictions.

- Current Per Capita water demand has been reduced more than 20% from the baseline years of FY 98 – FY 07

- October FY 10 water demand is 17.1% below Historical 10-year average
- October FY 10 is 15.0% below Historical 5-year average
- October FY 10 is 8.3% below October FY 09

- October FY 10 YTD water demand is 17.1% below Historical 10-year average
- October FY 10 YTD is 15.0% below Historical 5-year average
- October FY 10 YTD is 8.3% below October FY 09 YTD

Running 12-month Total:

Recent 12-month Conservation: 17.4%

Due to a growing Long Beach population from the baseline years of FY98 – FY 07 to now, the reduction in per capita water use (20%+) is greater than the reduction in water use (17%+).

Long Beach Water is an urban, Southern California retail water supply agency, and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship. “

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