Bleeding water

With the current California drought, some areas of the state are going to have to crimp their hoses tighter than others. According to the California Department of Water Resources, the amount of water usage varies wildly across the state. In the Sacramento River region—where summers are long and hot—residents use 279 of gallons of water per day per person (286 in Chico; 335 in Oroville). Compare that to the central coast (147 gallons), or San Francisco’s mere 98 gallons. At least we’re not as bad as the desert resort community of Palm Springs and its whopping 736 gallons per person. Here’s how it breaks down by region (agricultural numbers—which account for 80 percent of state’s water usage—are not included):