As Cambrians, we know the drill: no watering during mid-day (you don’t have a lawn, do you?), wash your car with a bucket, turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth, hope for regular rain, hope against seawater intrusion or MtBE contamination, watch for leaks, all with threat of surcharges around the next corner.
On average, Cambrians use fewer gallons per person per day than in many communities in California. That’s not all that impressive, actually. But to understand water use in Cambria, let’s review a few basics. First, water use varies greatly depending on the location, whether the water is metered, weather, landscaping choices, plumbing standards and age of the plumbing and fixtures. Water use is also affected our behavior choices and social norms (aka peer pressure).
Over the course of a year, Cambrians use an average of 90 gallons per person per day (gpcd). This is just under the EPA estimated national average of 100 gpcd, but more than the 70 gpcd estimated by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) in 1999. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) recommends water agencies use 70 gpcd for planning and resource management.
Unless you’ve picked up one of the District’s special water monitors that shows your water use in real time, converting the number of units on your bi-monthly bill to gallons per day isn’t an easy conversion. So here is an easy to use calculator. Just enter the number of units on any CCSD bill and the number of people who live in your home and your gpcd will be automatically calculated.
The chart below is a bit dated (1999), but shows average indoor use for households in this area.
The average indoor use of 70 gpcd for a household of 2 people translates to about 11 units per billing cycle. There are opportunities to reduce indoor water use that don’t reduce your quality of life. Sure, you should avoid letting the water run when you brush your teeth, but if you have a newer shower head and efficient toilets, it’s hardly necessary to deprive yourself of a decent shower. One 10 minute shower every day adds up to 1.6 units on your water bill. Replacing an older toilet with an efficient new model can save you almost 2.4 units per billing cycle.
Why does this all matter? Because we have to be responsible and share the limited water resources here. The CCSD is working on ensuring greater reliability so new homes and businesses can be built without depleting the resource.
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