The Long Beach Water Department reported on Jan. 15 that residents and businesses reduced water use in December 2015 by 10 percent compared to December 2013. The city used about 4,080 acre-feet of water last month.
“The winter rains cannot allow us to ease up on conservation,” said Frank Martinez, president of the Board of Water Commissioners. “We are still in a serious drought, and we need to continue with serious savings to hit our 16 percent statewide mandate.”
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and city councilmembers have joined the water-conservation campaign MissionH2OLB by taking individual pledges to save water. Those interested may follow LBWater on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see the pledges. Long Beach Water’s “MissionH2OLB” conservation campaign aims to help the city use water efficiently, meet the state’s target and still enjoy the community’s lifestyle, according to the water department. By visiting lbwater.org/mission, residents can calculate their water usage to see if they are meeting the Long Beach target, take the pledge to save water and listen to song playlists by two local bands to remind them to take a one-song shower.
“Don’t let the recent rain fool you,” Garcia said. “The drought continues, and we need to redouble our conservation efforts.”
Chris Garner, general manager of the Long Beach Water Department said that if every resident in Long Beach saves just 10 more gallons of water each week, conservation savings will increase by 1 percent. “Every small action you can do indoors and outdoors makes a difference,” Garner said.
Residents and businesses are urged to turn sprinklers off during and after rainstorms to get big water savings. There are still rebates available for rain barrels ($75 rebate) and weather-based irrigation controllers ($120 rebate) that automatically shut sprinklers off when it rains. Funding is limited and provided on a first-come/ first-served basis at socalwatersmart.com .
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has mandated Long Beach to cut its water use by 16 percent cumulatively compared to 2013 until February of this year.
