Numbers are in and Malibu residents cut water use by 26 percent in the month of January, compared to water use in January 2013.
“That’s the second best month that has been observed in the district since mandatory conservation has been put into place,” said Waterworks District 29 acting District Engineer Dave Rydman, speaking at the Monday, Feb. 22 city council meeting.
Rydman went on to say anticipated reduction percentages are expected to go back down in February, after a several-month rise in cuts.
“The hard thing about that, and we talked about this last month, was January of 2013 was a relatively dry month, so you had a very high base period,” Rydman explained. “However, February of 2013 was a very wet month, so for this month you have a very low target in order to meet the 36 percent conservation.”
In other words, Malibu used a lot of water in January 2013, meaning cutting back from that high target would not be as much of a challenge. In February 2013, Malibu used much less water, and since conservation is tracked month by month, that means this February’s percentage will likely not be as favorable.
Results will be out in the next few weeks to describe whether February’s conservation met expectations.