Judyc135, much like what fullysprinkled suggested, you could put a tankless unit at the point of use for your kitchen sink to save water (and btw way to go for being such a concerned citizen. hopefully there are a lot of not only Californians but people all over the US and the world just as concerned and proactive as you). My recommendation is the Heatworks MODEL 1 - a brand new electric tankless water heater. BUT there are some MAJOR differences than most tankless units out there. First, it is the size of a football so you can LITERALLY place this at the point of use aka under the sink, in a cabinet etc. The MODEL 1 also accepts pre heated water so you can run it in conjunction with any other heating system in the world. If using it in conjunction with a tank, you can turn down the temp of the tank so its not running all the time to keep the temp of the water hot. When you turn on the faucet the MODEL 1 immediately provides instant hot water while your tank heats up to the temp you want and then once that water arrives to the MODEL 1, the MODEL 1 powers down to save energy. Then once the temp in your tank decays, the MODEL 1 powers back on to keep the temp coming out consistent. It only requires a cold water pipe to run. It saves up to 40% on energy costs and up to 10% on water. The Heatworks MODEL 1 provides truly INSTANT, SAFE AND INFINITE hot water so you aren't waisting any clean water down the drain. If you need more information visit this site -
http://myheatworks.com/technology.php In the interest of full disclosure i do work for the company that invented Heatworks however i am here with the forum's best interest at heart. i am here to answer questions and help you find the best solution for you. We work solo or in conjunction with any brand of water heater you may have. We aren't their rivals, we compliment them. So please let me know if you have any other questions and good luck finding what works for you!