by Bay City News
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is asking its customers to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent because of ongoing drought conditions in the region. The announcement by the SFPUC, which provides water service to 2.6 million people in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties, comes after Gov. Jerry Brown proclaimed a drought state of emergency earlier this month.
Brown called on all Californians to cut their water usage by 20 percent because of significant drops in water levels at local reservoirs and in mountain snowpacks. SFPUC spokesman Tyrone Jue said the agency is only asking for a 10 percent reduction, rather than 20 percent, because customers are already "very conscious about their water use."
San Francisco's water use is about 88 gallons per capita per day -- less than half of the statewide average of 197, according to the SFPUC. The agency plans to make a formal announcement about the 10 percent voluntary reduction request on Friday. The SFPUC encourages residents to take shorter showers, noting that each minute of shower time equals about 2.5 gallons of water. Clothes and dishwashers should also be used with full loads only, according to the agency. More conservation tips, as well as data on the SFPUC's water supply, can be found online at www.sfwater.org/supplyupdate.
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