California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Water Use Shows Significant Drops

Water use has decreased significantly in San Francisco Bay Area communities because of conservation during the fourth consecutive year of drought, utility officials report. The biggest water-usage reductions in the area have come in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, where the average household has cut use by nearly 26%. San Francisco residents have cut their water consumption by 12.39%, the smallest reduction among the region’s major water districts. A main reason the city lags behind its neighbors is that usage wasn’t as high as that in other areas in the first place. “They don’t have the fat to cut back on,” said Cheryl Davis, customer services division manager in the San Francisco water department. In most communities, residents have followed a combination of mandatory rationing and voluntary cutbacks to significantly reduce water use.