by Monte Morin and Matt Stevens

July 1, 2015

Residential water use in California dropped by a hefty 29% in May, according to figures released Wednesday by the State Water Resources Control Board.

...

Monthly residential water savings were 28.9% in May, compared with May 2013. That is a significant increase from the 13.6% water savings in April, compared to April 2013, the water board said.

Mark Gold of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, said that although a “mild May” may have helped with conservation, saving 29% shows that Californians have also made a “tremendous … behavioral response” to the drought.

“Now we’re going to see how willing the public is to sacrifice their outdoor gardens for conservation purposes,” he said. “I’d be surprised if the decline will be as successful for June as it was in May. This is one month. Now we need to roll six months together to make a significant difference.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-may-water-conservation-20150701-story.html