'We can't relax our guard,' state water official warns as conservation effort lags

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More than 600 empty docks sit on dry, cracked dirt at Folsom Lake Marina, one of the largest inland marinas in California. As the state ended 2014 with no guarantee of significant rain and snow this winter, Californians face the prospect of stricter rationing and meager irrigation deliveries for agriculture.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Researcher Blair McLaughlin, left, and Andrew Weitz, right, walk through Blue Oak trees looking for trees affected by the drought near Shandon, Calif.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Passing storm clouds provide the backdrop for an early morning walk on the sand at the Santa Ana River inlet in Newport Beach.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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A crew from Smartgrass Synthetic Turf rolls up a pre-measured piece of artificial grass for installation in the backyard of a home in Pacific Palisades.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Rancher Bill Talbot opens a gate on his family’s leased ranch land near Bishop, Calif. Several ranchers are reducing their herds due to the drought.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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As the California drought grinds into its fourth year, the barren shoreline of Shasta Lake shows the steady drop in water level. The reservoir on the Sacramento River holds about 40% of the federal Central Valley Project’s stored supply.

(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Cindy Lazaris of the Catalina Island Conservancy walks along cracked earth that used to form the bottom of the Thompson (Middle Ranch) Reservoir, which has shrunk to a level which may cause the city of Avalon to cut its water usage by 50%.

(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles area residents could be required to cover swimming pools due to the drought.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Exposed shoreline shows low water levels at Castaic Lake.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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From an inspection boat in February 2014, San Gabriel Dam operators Herbert Romero, center, and Jose Aguilar use a measuring tape to determine that the depth of San Gabriel Reservoir near the dam is 50 feet deep. The lingering drought has exposed more than 121 feet of the reservoir’s shoreline. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Water rings mark receding levels of the Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Lack of snow in a view from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Severe drought conditions reveal dry-docked boats in a parking lot and over 600 empty docks sitting on dry, cracked dirt at Folsom Lake Marina, which is one of the largest inland marinas in California. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunset’s glow illuminates the skyline and receding water due to severe drought conditions at Folsom Lake State Recreational Area. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The effects of California’s ongoing drought are evident in the dry, cracked banks leftover from dropping water levels at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise highlights patterns of sand that remain after the water receded at the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The surrounding land is testimony to the effects of drought on the depleted Pine Flat Reservoir. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Irrihgation water floods the floor of a date palm grove in the Coachella Valley. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ court battle with two water agencies is one of several legal disputes over water that are being fought across California. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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CKen Gray of the Coachella Valley Water District kneels at a flume at one of many basins at the Thomas E. Levy Groundwater Replenishment Facility. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Earthen patterns are left behind from the receding waters of the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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In July 2014, marina owner Elaine Newton walks with her daughter Ashleigh Newton along docks and boat ramps that are now idle at Huntington Lake due to historically low water levels caused by the drought. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Patchy snow is all that’s on the ground at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park in January. The snow is normally much deeper at that time of year. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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In January 2014, cattle rancher Rob Frost surveys the remains of an animal that died due to drought conditions on grazing land near Santa Paula, where the grass is normally 6 to 10 inches high this time of year. Frost says in an ordinary year he will lose 1% of his cattle to natural causes but he is now losing nearly 10%. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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President Obama visits Los Banos, Calif., in February 2014 to see drought conditions. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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A lone fisherman waiting for a bite paces across a large portion of dry lake bed due to severe drought conditions at Folsom Lake. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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At drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir in October 2014, patterns are revealed by receding waters. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise in October 2014 highlights patterns of sand amid puddles that remain at drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir in Sanger, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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City of Santa Barbara public works department intern Devon Schmidt steps along the shoreline in February after checking the intake weir for the city’s desalination plant. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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In October 2014, rancher Jon Pedotti walks on the parched, cracked lake bed of his 1,561-acre ranch along San Simeon Creek in the Santa Lucia Mountain foothills of Cambria. Of the lake, which fed water to his 280 cattle, he said: “It’s never been this dry.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A dead lawn in Parkwood, Calif., in September 2014 after a well failed and the town had to import water. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Muddy water gushes out of a newly drilled well in July 2014 serving a farm in Terra Bella, Calif. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

By Matt Stevens

and Monte Morin

Oct. 1, 2015 6:02 PM PT

For the first three years of California’s drought, calls for water conservation got little traction.

Then in April, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a mandatory 25% cut, and California took notice. Through the summer, residents slashed water use dramatically, up to 31% in July.

But in August, conservation dipped for the first time since Brown’s order took effect.

Californians cut back their urban water use in August by 27% compared with the same month in 2013, state regulators announced Thursday.

Officials blame August’s extreme heat and lack of rain — especially compared with July — for the uptick in water use.

Still, the numbers underscore concern that California’s water-savings zeal could fade during the cooler, wetter winter months and especially in those that follow.

“If it’s really very wet for four months, are people going to go back to their old water-wasting ways?” said Mark Gold, associate vice chancellor for environment and sustainability at UCLA. “That’s a question that only time will tell.”

The National Weather Service has predicted a 95% chance of El Niño continuing throughout the winter. Experts say the weather pattern could bring major storms to Southern California.

Thursday, state water officials said that regardless, residents must continue conserving just as if no rain or snow were to occur.

“We can’t roll the dice when we’re still in the worst drought we’ve seen,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. “We can’t relax our guard.”

In a water year in which California experienced abnormally high temperatures and suffered from record-low snowpack, Marcus and a chorus of water experts have pointed to urban conservation as a bright spot.

Because Californians have saved so much, regulators have largely been able to avoid levying big fines on local water districts for failing to meet their conservation targets — which range from 4% to 36% compared with 2013 levels.

Los Angeles cut its water use 17.4% compared with the same month in 2013 — good enough to eclipse its 16% conservation target. But about 28% of urban water providers missed their targets in August — a tick higher than in July.

Water Board Climate and Conservation Manager Max Gomberg said that some cities had fallen so far behind in their conservation efforts that achieving their mandated goals by February would be “a really high mountain to climb.”

Gomberg singled out Pasadena and Redlands by way of example. In order to meet their respective 28% and 36% conservation targets, residents and businesses in those communities would need to cut water use by 45% for the next five months.

“That’s an incredibly high bar,” Gomberg said.

Water Board officials said they would be focusing on those cities and others in the coming months. “We want to get them as close as possible,” Gomberg said.

But Marcus emphasized that officials are not discouraged by the August dip.

“The fact that the numbers didn’t drop precipitously — which is what we were afraid of — shows that people get it and they’re continuing” to conserve, Marcus said. “I’m not worried about drought fatigue yet.”

In fact, there are signs that some Californians are just now getting the message.

El Monte was named a “top performer” because the city reduced its water use by about 23% in August. The water district managed by the city had missed its conservation target by more than 22 percentage points in June.

The latest statistics also showed that the number of warnings and complaints about water waste may be leveling off. Water agencies issued 38,601 water waste complaints statewide in August, compared with 38,882 in July.

Gold said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the 27% savings in August.

“It was such a hot August, I thought people would backslide and use a lot more water for irrigation purposes,” he said. “It shows this may be a significant permanent change.”

Public polling has shown that the drought has become a top concern for Californians, and a majority would be willing to pay for water infrastructure or other drought fixes.

Annie Costanzo installed a gray water system at her home in the Miracle Mile area and purchased seven rain barrels over the summer — all in an effort to save water.

Even if it rains in the winter, “I’m not going to suddenly start using more water,” the 64-year-old sculptor said. “I’m not the least bit fatigued. If anything, we need to conserve more.”

Randy Hirt, 47, is living with his mother in Beverly Hills until his family’s new house in Venice is completed. His three kids like to play in a small splash pool, take baths and pretend to wash the dishes. The family almost was penalized for its water use during the last billing cycle, he said.

If storms arrive in the coming months, Hirt said, the rain might give him a chance to loosen up on his children’s water use.

“They’re kids, they want to play,” he said. “If it rains a lot maybe I won’t be as careful … It’s a psychological thing.”

Marcus warned that exaggerated hopes of a soaking El Niño could stifle much of the effort Californians have put toward conservation. The state’s current water deficit is equivalent to a year’s worth of precipitation, she said.

“One wet winter, even if we get a wet winter, is not going to erase that,” Marcus said.

monte.morin@latimes.com

Twitter: @montemorin

matt.stevens@latimes.com

Twitter: @ByMattStevens