Many people are not aware that using water indirectly produces gases that are believed to be the cause of global warming. Water use, energy consumption and greenhouse gas production are closely related processes. California currently uses 19% of all its electric power to pump, use and treat water. A large share of the power consumed comes from power plants that burn fossil fuels and emit climate-changing gases.

Use the charts to the left to see graphically how much water is delivered to your community or water district and how much energy use and greenhouse gas production results from it. You can move the slider to the right to see how these figures are expected to change in future years.  Click on the individual charts to get a detailed look at each City or water district.

 Water use is listed in acre-feet per year. (An acre-foot of water is the amount that would cover one acre of land one foot deep, about 325,000 gallons.) Power use is shown in kilowatt-hours and greenhouse gas production is given in tons of CO2 per year.

Things you can do:
1. Conserve water. For tips see www.sonomacountywater.org
2. Landscape with beautiful native or low water use plantings.

Things SCWA is doing:
1. Developing renewable energy sources.
2. Promoting conservation.

Source of Information
Figures in these charts are taken from the Sonoma County Water Agency’s Urban Water Management Plan 2005 which is available online at www.sonomacountywater.org.