SAN JOSE – For the fourth time in five months, Santa Clara County surpassed the call by Valley Water’s Board of Directors to reduce water use by 15% compared to 2019. In November 2022, countywide water use dropped 22% compared to November 2019. The 22% water savings signifies the highest one-month total since the Board’s call in June 2021 and also exceeds Governor Newsom’s call for conservation by 7%.
"22% is a phenomenal number," said John L. Varela, Valley Water Board Chair. "I want to thank Santa Clara County for not only reaching our water savings goal of 15% but far exceeding it. The recent rain has helped our water supply, but we continue to ask everyone to make conservation a way of life."
While three weeks of storms from late December to mid-January brought much-needed water to our state and county, they did not erase the drought conditions we’ve experienced for the past three years. Though reservoir levels have increased substantially and the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is well above average for this time of year, we won’t know until the rainy season ends on April 1 how our water supplies will look for the rest of the year.
Valley Water continues to encourage residents, businesses, farms, and others to follow watering restrictions and take actions, both large and small, to increase water savings. Visit watersavings.org for conservation information.