LOS ANGELES — Despite official calls to increase conservation amid worsening drought, urban water use across California increased by nearly 19% in March, according to figures released Tuesday.
When compared to March 2020 — the year the current drought began — average water use in cities and towns across the state increased 18.9%, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board.
The increase was even greater in the South Coast Hydrologic Region, which is home to more than half the state’s population. In this region, which includes Los Angeles, urban water use increased 26.9%.
However, department officials said the steep increase was due in part to March 2020 being wetter than average when compared to March of this year. The first three months of this year marked the driest start to the calendar year in California history.
Also, March 2020 was 1.3 degrees cooler than average, while March 2022 was 3.6 degrees warmer than average.
“It’s almost like apples and oranges because we did have quite a bit more precipitation in that March versus the one that we experienced here,” said board member Sean Maguire.
