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California is experiencing the worst drought in its history, and the effects are being felt nationwide. Thus water issues have taken center stage in much of our reporting and the nation's.As the New York Times says, "Water has long been a precious resource in California, the subject of battles pitting farmer against city-dweller and northern communities against southern ones; books and movies have been made about its scarcity and plunder. Water is central to the state’s identity and economy, and a symbol of how wealth and ingenuity have tamed nature ..."As we continue through a fourth year of extreme drought conditions, you'll find all of our reporting on the related issues (and that of NPR and other member stations) in this centralized place.

Early Saving By Cal Water's Oroville Customers Reduces New Conservation Goal

Miguel Tejada-Flores
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Flickr, Creative Commons

With a little over two weeks before mandatory residential water restrictions go into effect statewide, today, our series looking at conservation efforts focuses on Oroville.

Compared to much of the North State, parts of Oroville have it easy. While many locals will be asked to cut their water usage by more than a third, in much of Oroville, the heavy lifting has already been done.

Toni Ruggle, district manager of the Oroville District of the California Water Service Company, said his customers are under orders to reduce water usage by 28 percent compared to 2013. But aggressive conservation by residents, helped along by rebates on water efficient appliances and giveaways of water saving gadgets by the utility, cut water usage in the parts of Oroville served by Cal Water by 18 percent in 2014.

That, Ruggle said, means customers have to save only another 10 percent. The figures only cover residents served by Cal Water. Those served by South Feather Water & Power face 36 percent cuts.

Customers will soon be notified of their monthly water budget for July. While not quite as easy as tracking data plan usage on a smartphone, it’s far from impossible.

“Basically, they’ll physically have to go out and take the lid off the meter box, and then lift the lid on the dial and then read the meter and they can track it that way,” Ruggle said. “So they can track in gallons and they can track in cubic feet.”

A meeting to explain the restrictions is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the Cal Water customer service center, 1905 High Street in Oroville. It begins at 5:30 p.m. 

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