Residents and businesses across the San Diego region embraced water conservation in May, driving down water use by 30 percent. Significant water-saving efforts were aided by relatively cool and wet conditions during the month that helped suppress water demand during the fourth consecutive year of unprecedented drought conditions.

Starting in June, the Water Authority's member agencies are under state mandates to reduce water use between 12 and 36 percent compared to 2013 -- a daunting task that will require everyone in the region to continue maximizing water-saving efforts even when hot and dry weather returns. Those water-use targets set by the State Water Resources Control Board implemented  Gov. Jerry Brown's April 1 executive order for a 25 percent statewide reduction in urban water use.     

The Water Authority's Board of Directors in May  adopted a set of measures to help local water agencies meet the state's water-use reduction targets by immediately boosting regional conservation and outreach efforts and restricting irrigation of ornamental landscapes with potable water to no more than two days a week across the region. Member agencies have the flexibility to set their own watering days and times.

After more than two years of work, Carlsbad Desalination Project crews installed the final segment of the 10-mile conveyance pipeline that connects the Carlsbad Desalination Plant to the Water Authority's regional water distribution system. Construction crews lowered the final piece of pipe -- No. 2177 -- into Macario Canyon in Carlsbad Monday morning, completing a major element of the historic project.  

Construction of the 54-inch diameter pipeline began in spring 2013 in San Marcos. Crews worked in Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos to reduce impacts on local businesses and residents. In coming weeks, crews will finish street restorations between Lionshead Avenue in Vista and the desalination plant in Carlsbad while they move closer to plant completion.

The Carlsbad Desalination Project, more than 90 percent complete, will include the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient seawater desalination plant in the nation. It will produce an average of 50 million gallons of high-quality water per day and account for about one-third of all the water generated in San Diego County, helping reduce reliance on imported water at a time when hot and dry conditions are depleting water supplies statewide.

For more information about the Carlsbad Desalination Project, go to www.carlsbaddesal.com. 

The 2016 and 2017 budget for operating departments is down 5 percent from the current budget due to a combination of efforts to reduce expenses. Operating expenses comprise only 6 percent of the Water Authority's $1.5 billion two-year budget.

To read the Water Authority's budget, go to  www.sdcwa.org/budget.