"There are large variations across the state," notes Peter Bostrom from the California Department of Water Resources. "Outdoor use could be 25 percent [of a household's use] in Santa Cruz and 80 percent is Coachella ... 15 percent of users account for 60 percent of overuse in landscape irrigation."

Source: California Dept. of Water Resources_Water Plan (2009) — Source: California Dept. of Water Resources; Water Plan (2009)

Additionally, estimates are typically represented as gallons per capita per day (gcpd), in which water use in each of the state's 10 hydraulic regions is divided by population (see map at right). These calculations, however, generally factor in each region's total water consumption, which includes residential water use as well as commercial and industrial uses.

Among the best ways to get a handle on your own household's water consumption is by scrutinizing your water bill, which usually includes the number of gallons used that month. Additionally, a new state website provides a calculator for estimating your personal water.

An often-cited 2011 study of California single-family water consumption estimated that the average California household used more than 360 gallons of water per day. To put that in perspective, the typical office water cooler holds 5 gallons, or about 1.4 percent of the study's estimated daily average household use. Given that figure, the average house in California would need to use 72 fewer gallons a day to meet the 20 percent reduction goal.

The study, which was sponsored by CDWR and managed by the Irvine Ranch Water District, logged water consumption in the year 2007 for 735 homes spread across the state's 10 hydraulic regions.

The study found that about 53 percent of total average household water use -- or more than 190 gallons per household per day -- was used for landscaping and other outdoor uses (remember, this is only the state average -- most cities in the Bay Area use significantly less).

Meanwhile, Indoor use accounted for more than 170 gallons per household per day. Not surprisingly, the most in-home water consumption was in toilet flushes. A more shocking finding, however, was the whopping 18 percent lost to leaks inside homes, the study found. Data from the study is represented in the charts below.

Bostrom from CDWR claims that voluntary water reduction campaigns have proven to be quite effective during past droughts.

"We've found in general that when the call goes out, people respond very well to drought messaging," he says, referring to successful reduction campaigns during the 2007-2009 drought. "It's gotta be a coordinated message with water suppliers reminding people of the shortage and need for water conservation. And suppliers build that [reduction] into their drought planning."

For 8 simple tips on conserving water, check out this recent post on KQED's News Fix.

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