In the United States we are lucky to have easy access to some of the safest treated water in the world – just by turning on the tap.
We wake up in the morning, take a shower, brush our teeth, grab a cup of coffee and head out for the day. Water is an important part of our daily lives and we use it for a wide variety of purposes but do we really understand how much we use? The average American family of four uses roughly 400 gallons of water per a day at home. Roughly 70 percent of this use occurs indoors. Nationally, outdoor water use accounts for 30 percent of household use yet can be much higher in drier parts of the country and in more water intensive landscapes. For example, the arid west has some of the highest per capita residential water use because of landscape irrigation. Annual precipitation can vary from less than one inch in Death Valley to as much as 100 inches along the north coast. To more water across the state, California relies heavily on water conveyance and storage systems such as the California State Water Project, which provides drinking water to nearly 2/3 of the states population. California’s water supply is becoming increasingly overtaxed. Each year, the state consumes 2 million more acre-feet of ground water than it recharges naturally.
California is also at high risk for drought than many other areas of the country and has experiences major drought events from 2007-2009, 1987-1992, & 1976-1977. During drought years, total precipitation can be less than half the annual average. Rainfall and snowfall can vary significantly not only from year to year but season to season as well. On average 75 percent of California annual precipitation occurs between November and march and peak agricultural and urban water use generally does not align with peak precipitation. California has long promoted water conservation as a means to preserve this precious resource as droughts and growing population continue to strain supplies.