Governor Davis has mandated that California residents need to conserve 25% to be able to extend our water supplies. There are large variations in usage across the state. Outdoor use of water for landscaping is less in Northern California than what is used in Southern California, due to SoCal’s warmer, drier climate. Overall, 15 percent of users account for 60 percent of overuse in landscape irrigation.
Estimates for water usage are measured as gallons per capita per day (gcpd). To understad your own household’s water consumption you will need to examine your water bill, which usually includes the number of gallons used each month. Your Municipal Utility District is among several local agencies that offer good interactive forms for how to read your bill.
A 2011 study of single-family water consumption, estimated that the average California household used more than 360 gallons of water per day. To meet the 25% water reduction targets, the average household in California will need to use about 90 fewer gallons a day.
The typical breakdown in household water usage reflects that about 53 percent of total average household water use — or more than 190 gallons per household per day — was used for landscaping and other outdoor uses (this is just the state average — most cities in the Bay Area use significantly less). Indoor use accounted for more than 170 gallons per household per day. The largetst consumer of in-home water consumption was in toilet flushes. Unfortunately, 18 percent i s lost to leaks inside homes.
Transitioning your landscaping from a water-thirsty lawn to a California Native and Drought Tolerant landscape will likely help you to meet the 25% reduction mandate. Your Low Water Landscape will be established with drip irrigation. You can calculate the approximate new water demand by estimating how many plants will be watered with drippers given a dripper rate ~ 1 gallon/hour. Your drip system will only require usage ~10minutes per day at most. If you have 100 drippers (this is a lot) x 1/6 hour x 1 gallon/hr is about 15 gallons/day. Compare this to 190 gallons and be proud of what you could contribute to saving water. You will save 90% of 50% of your water, or 45%.
Our experience is that the removal of a pool, replacing with turf and pavers, taking shorter showers and bucketing the water for plants, plus replacing a lawn with low water saved us from 50 to 70% of our previous water consumption.