Governor Brown's executive order dated April 1, 2015, mandates a 25% statewide reduction in urban water use.  That mandate requires water-saving targets between 12% and 36% for the San Diego County Water Authority's 20 member agencies. The City of San Diego, for example, is under mandatory water use restrictions and must reduce its water usage by a collective 16%. In Riverside, the Western Municipal Water District has a goal of reducing outdoor water use by 30% and recommends reducing outdoor watering by 50%. The Coachella Valley Water District has implemented mandatory water restrictions to reduce water use by 36%. Given this climate, it is hard to imagine that the cost of water will drop any time soon.

It is in everyone's interest to conserve water. Yet, communities that are commonly metered have less incentive to do so. These communities should try to instill an attitude conducive to conservation. One way is to convert to submeters. When the water bill is just a piece of the monthly assessment, residents don't see the connection between their personal water use and their monthly bills as directly as when each home receives its own water bill. However, communities that have converted to submeters have seen a 20% to 25% reduction in water use.