Californians’ water conservation slipped for the third consecutive month in August, regulators said Wednesday, expressing alarm that relaxed drought rules may be causing residents to fall back into wasteful habits. People in the state’s cities and towns cut their water use by just 17.7% in August, compared with the same month in 2013, staff members of the state Water Resources Control Board said. “We’re at yellow alert,” water resources board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said. That month, water savings fell sharply to 21.5%, and conservation has continued to flag each month since. Water board members have repeatedly defended their decision to ease the rules, saying that while a 25% statewide reduction in urban water use was necessary in an emergency, such top-down demands could not continue indefinitely.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 05, 2016 17:48 UTC