LOS ANGELES — Angelenos used less water last month than any June on record, the Los Angeles Department of Water announced Wednesday. Compared with a year earlier, LADWP customers reduced their water use 9% last month following so-called Tier 3 watering restrictions that took effect June 1.

Under the new restrictions, customers were required to reduce the number of days they water outdoor plants from three to two, and to limit watering to eight minutes per station per watering day. The utility also recommended using pool covers to prevent water evaporation and to wash vehicles at commercial car washes that recycle water. 

Last month, the utility also increased its Water Conservation Response Units to warn residents who violate water use restrictions. Customer reports of water waste increased 44% in June compared with April.

"We put out the call to conserve and you responded swiftly and decisively," LADWP General Manager Martin Adams said in a statement. "But it’s early in the summer months and we need everyone to continue saving water wherever possible to help us navigate the rest of the summer when water use is typically higher."

LADWP offers 20 different rebates to help customers save water. They include a $3 per square foot rebate for turf replacement, $500 for high-efficiency clothes washers, $250 for high-efficiency toilets, $500 for zero- and ultra-low water urinals, $6 for rotating sprinkler nozzles and free bathroom and kitchen faucet aerator and high-efficiency showerheads. 

LADWP said it has received ten times more applications for its turf replacement rebate program in recent weeks.

About 90% of the city’s water is imported from the Eastern Sierra mountains, Northern California and the Colorado River, which experienced its first ever shortage earlier this year. Just 10% comes from local groundwater or water that is recycled, the agency said. Lake Mead, supplied by the Colorado, is currently below 30% capacity as the state endures a third consecutive year of drought.