California’s Super Drought: Where does most of our water go?

As we are all being asked to reduce our water useage by anywhere from 10-20%, most homeowners are at a loss trying to figure out where else they can save this precious resource. Many have continued water conservation practices after our 1970’s experience with drought and many in California just have the mindset to be green and conserve all resources best they can.

A 2010 study by the Sierra Club shows San Francisco usage at the lowest at 108 gallons a day per person with San Mateo following at 133 Gallons per day. Compare this to Mono County’s reported use at 471 gallons per day and we can see where more of our water is going for more rural areas. According to California Water Service Company, which serves most of South San Francisco using <20% local ground water through wells and 80% from Hetch Hetchy, we already use 12% less water than other local areas due in large part to smaller lots, less yards and agricultural needs.

The majority of our water is used for meat and dairy production and other agricultural uses which makes up 90% of water needs, according to the December 2012 study by Pacific Institute ‘California’s Water Footprint’.  Less than 10% is directly used by consumers for direct use in homes as this chart from the Institute shows