Last Updated May 2010
For the past three years, we’ve been asking Burbank residents and businesses to conserve water in response to California’s water supply crisis. Here’s an update on how Burbank is doing.
Total Water Use in Burbank has Dropped 11%
Total water consumed in Burbank dropped by 864 million gallons from 2007 to 2009, an 11.3% decline. An average daily water use per person can be derived by taking the total amount of water consumed and dividing it by both Burbank’s population and 365 days.
Burbank has done a great job so far in conserving water, but there is more work to be done. Reliable water supply will be a topic of concern in California for many years to come. This concern was recently ratified by California’s legislature with Senate Bill X7-7, a law that requires all state water agencies to reduce water use 20% by 2020 against a specific baseline. Burbank's baseline of daily per person water use is 194 gallons. The 20% by 2020 goal that we are striving for is a daily average of 155 gallons of water used per person throughout the year. Burbanks's current average use per person is 173 gallons, so we still need to reduce usage by at least 10%. The tricky part lies not so much in reducing our water usage, but in maintaining reduced levels. We got lucky this year with a fair amount of rain that kept grass green without having to do a lot of extra irrigation. However, as soon as the weather changes, it could be a challenge to keep the demand for water from surging.
Burbank Residents Have Been Very Responsive
Residents use about three-fourths of all the water consumed in Burbank, so our initial water-saving efforts focused on residential use. We are exceptionally pleased to report that Burbank’s residents have responded to the call for water conservation and have significantly reduced the amount of water used over the past three years. A huge THANK YOU to those of you who have embraced the need to conserve water!
Single-Family vs. Multi-Family Differences: The average daily per person water use is about 33 gallons for those living in apartment buildings, with limited variation from month to month. However, the range of daily per person water use by those living in single-family homes varies dramatically throughout the year, from 41 to 97 gallons per person per day. Warmer weather drives the amount of water needed to irrigate lawns, which is the single largest water use in Burbank.
Greater Focus on Business
From 2007 to 2009, Burbank’s businesses reduced their water usage by nearly 8% and are mandated to continue taking actions to conserve water. In 2009, Burbank’s City Council required that all businesses, including apartment buildings, meet high efficiency standards for toilets, urinals, showerheads, and kitchen and bathroom faucet aerators by October 31, 2010. By upgrading older plumbing equipment, significant and durable water savings will result. Any business failing to meet the requirements by October 31st will be assessed a 25% surcharge on the water used in their facility.