Are you in your office right now? Check out the restroom. Are there low flow toilets?  Faucet aerators?  How about in the kitchen?  Is there an efficient dishwasher?

Are you in a hotel?  Is there information in your room about how you can help reduce the amount of laundry they wash?  Are they using efficient washing machines?

Will you be playing golf this weekend?  Does the golf course irrigate with recycled water?

So many of us have taken measures to reduce the amount of water we use in our homes, but think about the tremendous amount of time you spend in other settings.  About one third of urban water use takes place in non-residential settings - this is water used in the state's commercial, industrial and institutional sector (think office buildings, hotels, oil refineries, golf courses, schools and universities, gyms, restaurants and manufacturers).  In California, these places use over 2 million acre feet-- enough water to fill more than one million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Right now there is legislation pending in the California Assembly (AB 49) that would reduce urban water use 20 percent by 2020, including the commercial, industrial and institutional (CII)sector.  

Today, NRDC released a new report that shows the CII sector how they can help California meet that goal with water efficiency measures - improving the state's water supply and saving themselves money at the same time.

The report, entitled, Making Every Drop Work , describes water efficiency measures, and includes case studies of leading California businesses and industries that are using those measures - saving water and money at the same time. The report also highlights some water agency programs that have been successful in reaching CII water users.

Cumulatively, California's CII sector can save enough water to meet the annual needs of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.  And you can take that to the bank (and the office, and the factory, and the university...)