Bay Area residents use buckets to save water during drought

KENSINGTON, Calif. (KGO) -- There's a new bucket challenge making the rounds, but it isn't to help fight a medical condition. Instead, it was created to help combat our drought.

As a byproduct of the drought, bucket sales at Pastime Ace Hardware in El Cerrito have increased by 25 percent in the past month. That explains why manager Jeffrey Pryde keeps ordering more of them.

"It tells you people are worried about this drought and it is for real," he said.

ABC7 News caught up with one woman who was buying buckets a short time later. Pamela Drake lives in Kensington. She keeps a massive multi-tiered garden on a drip system, but says, "These days it is a bit of a liability."

We found her to be a poster homeowner for conservation. She has water catching devices everywhere, from the shower to kitchen. She uses only 173 gallons of water per day. That's much less than the 246 gallons that the East Bay Municipal Utility District has allotted the average household.

And yet, Drake could soon pay more based on proposed EBMUD drought surcharges,

"The average customer will see about a $12 increase on their monthly bill," said EBMUD spokesperson Abby Figueroa.

That number could be more or less depending on usage.

When asked if she could cut if she had to, Drake said, "I could, I could just take fewer showers."

Yes, it really has come to this.

For water rebate information from Bay Area water suppliers, click here. And click here for tips on how to conserve. To learn more about how to report water wasters #WhereYouLive, click here.

For full coverage on the drought, click here.