Unlikely 'March Miracle' Will Pull California Out Of Drought, Urban Water Use Increases

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- After 66 consecutive days without significant rain, Northern California got a break Tuesday.

It's a different story than what the area saw in October, November and December with an atmospheric river bringing record rain and flooding along creeks and streams to the area.

Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board released data that showed Californians increased urban water use by 2.6% in January compared to the same period in 2020.

This comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom's call for Californians to cut water, voluntarily, by 15%. CBS13 asked the Governor's Office about a statewide conservation mandate.

In response, a spokesperson for the governor wrote:

"California has just experienced the driest January and February on record, and our precipitation levels remain critically low. Climate change has fundamentally altered the state's hydrologic cycle, intensifying extreme weather and leading to longer, dryer periods.

We all must do more to adjust and adapt. That's why we have increased our efforts to communicate with all Californians about what they can do to conserve water, and the importance of conservation amid these dry conditions. Local water suppliers also have an important role to play in this effort, and have to step up to ensure regional water goals are met."

"There's no way to make up, at this point, to make up for January, February, and a little bit of March where we've had dry weather," said Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program and a senior research scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.