Gimmicks and technology: California learns to save water

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, California (AP) — Billboards and TV commercials, living room visits, guess-your-water-use booths, and awards for water stinginess — a wealthy swath of Southern California that once had one of the worst records for water conservation in the drought-stricken state is turning things around, proving it's possible to get people to change their ways.

The 154,000-customer Santa Margarita Water District cut its water use 18 percent in May, compared with a pitiful 3 percent in the previous 11 months, state officials announced this week.

The agency achieved it by, among other things, holding small meetings in people's homes, knocking on 2,000 doors, plastering the city with save-water billboards, conspicuously honoring its most frugal citizens, and rushing to get an innovative runoff recycling system up and running earlier than planned.

The agency also offers rebates for ripping up grass and installing low-flow toilets, more efficient washing machines and drip irrigation systems.

The savings prove that Californians can conserve water when pressed and when they understand what is at stake, said Jonathan Volzke, district spokesman.

With California gripped by one of the most punishing droughts on record — a dry spell going on four years — state officials have ordered a 25 percent overall cut in urban consumption of drinkable water and have set different targets for cities and water agencies. The target for Santa Margarita is 24 percent.

On Wednesday, state officials proudly reported that California cities and water districts overall cut consumption 29 percent in May, the highest yet recorded during the drought.