Portland Water Use Between San Francisco and Los Angeles Levels
Posted on July 9, 2015 by Janice Thompson
Tags, Water/Wastewater
Drought in California is starting to change water use patterns, as illustrated by the recent data indicating that monthly residential water savings jumped 28.9% between May of 2014 and 2015. So how does Portland water use compare to usage by some of our neighbors to the south?
Portland’s major water source, the Bull Run reservoir, is not facing water supply problems since its water comes primarily from rains rather than snow fall. Dismally low winter snow pack levels are contributing to California’s drought and are a major factor in drought declarations in many Oregon counties.
Even without water supply pressures though, Portlanders are using less water than many of our California neighbors. Portland’s residential daily water use per person was 52 gallons for the fiscal year between July of 2013 and June of 2014, the year for which the most recent data is available. For fiscal year 2009-10 Portland’s residential daily use per person was 60 gallons, so there has been a downward trend.
By comparison, residential daily water use per person from June 2014 through May 2015 in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power service area was 79.7 gallons. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission reports residential daily water use per person of 43.4 gallons. This is the first year that this data was consistently compiled by the California’s State Water Control Board.
Given the value Portlanders place on conservation, this difference isn’t all that surprising. Another probable factor is the upward trend of Portland’s public utility rates. Keep in mind, though, that average residential monthly bills are 1/3 for water from the Portland Water Bureau and 2/3 for sewer and stormwater management services provided by the Bureau of Environmental Services. The Los Angeles Water and Power bills are also not just water bills, but don’t include sewer and stormwater charges which are high in Portland, due to the Big Pipe effort that dramatically reduced sewer overflows into the Willamette River. San Francisco’s public utility supplies power, water, and sewer services so that combined bill may be sending a stronger signal to consumers especially since their water and sewer rates are higher than in Portland. Weather patterns in these three communities also differ with Los Angeles, which typically requires irrigation year-round. In general it is very challenging, especially between different locations, to parse out all the factors that contribute to water usage.
Also challenging in Portland is that most residential customers get quarterly bills that can be tough for households to manage, especially those on fixed incomes. CUB helped push through the option of getting that quarterly bill delivered as three monthly bills, and you can contact the customer service folks to request this change at: (503) 823-7770 or on the Portland Water Bureau’s website.
Of course, the overall amount of the bill doesn’t change even if it is easier to manage when it comes monthly. This is why CUB convinced the Portland City Council to end a subsidy on sewer system fees paid by developers. This will be an ongoing savings beginning with $2 million kept in ratepayer pockets in the current fiscal year. We continue to look for these kinds of savings for residential customers of Portland’s public utilities.
In the meantime, most Portland lawns are quite brown and presumably this is a growing trend in California too. After all, having a “brown” lawn is the “green” thing to do.
To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
05/01/17 | 0 Comments | Portland Water Use Between San Francisco and Los Angeles Levels