On this rainy Tuesday, the Sacramento Business Journal reports that Sacramento is the “eighth-thirstiest city with at least 750,000 residents, worse than the fast-growing desert communities of Las Vegas and Tucson, Ariz., at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.” By the way, Sacramento ranks 12th (just behind Las Vegas and well ahead of Tucson) on the top 100 fastest growing cities in America list (couldn’t find the year, but haven’t these cities slowed down quite a bit? You know, in these tough economic times and all).
Sacramento-area’s average resident uses 250 gallons of water per day, and the annual rainfall is about 20 inches of rain per season. And much of the water from the two rivers is promised outside the Sacramento region.
I don’t know if I am more shocked by the 250 gallons a day statistic or irritated that the water from our two rivers is “promised” away.
The Sac Rag 
I don’t think I could top 250 gallons a day if I left my sink running while I went to work. Are they including water bottling plants in that count???
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City of Tampa has this neat water calculator. For me, I estimate about 250-300 gal per day for our entire household (2 adults plus a baby). But I could easily see it going much higher if we ever washed our cars or patio on a regular basis.
The funny thing is that I installed a tankless water heater up in the attic. But the damn thing is so far away from the kitchen sink that if I were metered for water, I think the water I am wasting waiting for hot water would exceed any savings from the tankless system.
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You can get an inexpensive ($150) “under sink” heater to give you instant hot while you wait for the real hot to come.
Water use calculater is neat, but my whole family is only at 150 gallons a day at the most- assuming summer watering of lawn, washing cars, filling a pool… Cut that in half for the 5 months of winter.
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Could it have something to do with the city ordinance requiring irrigated landscaping? (And requires it be cut to lawn height.)
It makes sense that Sacramento would use more water than desert communities where water bills run so high that no one in their right mind would plant a lawn. Of course the water is promised away….this is where LA residents and San Joaquin Valley farmers get their water. I take it you don’t remember the Great Water War of the 1970s and 80s? We won a few minor battles, but they won the war.
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I wonder how we count as “the eighth-thirstiest city with at least 750,000 residents” when Sacramento’s population is only about 450,000?…Okay, they’re counting MSAs, not just the city itself, in the case of Bakersfield, Portland etcetera.
We could get rid of all the golf courses, for starters…
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Two of my neighbors were running their sprinklers in the rain the other day. Seriously? Lawns are sooo 1940s. Get some xeroscaping already!
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