The silted up San Clemente Dam awaits demolition
Recently published residential water consumption figures show residents of the Monterey Peninsula increasing their water use to an average of 54.2 gallons per person per day during March. This is up a bit from the 52 gallons per person per day used in January and February and drops the Monterey Peninsula from 29th place in the statewide water conservation sweepstakes, down to 44th. At 50 gallons per person per day, King City residents remain the best water conservationists in Monterey County.
Disappointing? Yes. But it’s probably unrealistic to expect any better from people whose community leaders have been lying to them for years by telling them that they’re already the greatest water conservationists in the state, and whose local press has never challenged those claims.
As it is, the 43 cities whose residents did a better job of conserving water in March, included Martinez, San Francisco, Arcata, Dublin, San Bruno, Santa Cruz, Milpitas, Daly City, Atascadero, Santa Barbara, Soquel, Vallejo, and even the famously water-wasting Southern California metropolis of Fountain Valley.
People on the Monterey Peninsula would probably be embarrassed… if they knew.
For background and additional details, see previous posts on this topic from November, 2014 and April, 2015.
Xasáuan Today 
Good post, Keith. Thanks for flagging this. I’m counting 42 rather than 43 using less…were you able to sort using a spreadsheet or did you do it the slow way? (I did the latter—couldn’t find an Excel format to sort)
I’ve counted again (the slow way) and I still get 43. There used to be a master excel spreadsheet available, but that seems to have disappeared from the State’s website. I suppose anyone who wants can click the link I provided and count for themselves. But whether we’re 43rd or 44th, we are most definitely not first, and most definitely do still have room for improvement when it comes to water conservation.
Keith, I am scheduled to make three talks on the Carmel River in July, primarily associated with “River in Ruin:The Story of the Carmel River.” What the hell am I walking into! Hi, Kira, how’s the baby? Best, Ray