Water, conservation, and tattle tales

Are we so idiotic that we won't actually start conserving water until it starts gouging our wallets? I mean, every city seems to be encouraging voluntary conservation: Long Beach put new laws in place -- which are pretty much voluntary because no one's getting fined, Santa Monica is pushing the 20 gallon challenge, and Villaraigosa is urging Angelenos to drop water consumption by 10% (PDF). But these initiatives don't seem to be helping.

Of course, Villaraigosa has been outed as a major water guzzler himself. According to a now-inaccessible L.A. Times article (I'll write a post griping about this one day), “even if he had made a 10% reduction at the two homes where he has lived since winning election in 2005, he still would have used nearly twice as much water as comparable properties in the vicinity.”

So maybe we really ARE that idiotic.... And now, in the face of such inaction, the Metropolitan Water District is warning us to get ready for higher water rates.

Chances are, you already know how not to waste water, even if you don't have complex gray water systems or a native garden set up. It's easy, really. Chill on the marathon-length showers. Turn the tap off when you brush your teeth. Wait until you fill up your dishwasher before running it. Don't overwater the lawn, or worse, the sidewalk.

Who are the idiots not doing this stuff? Besides Villaraigosa, I mean.

Unnecessary lawn watering is probably my biggest water-related pet peeve, just because I see it so often. It's a public nuisance, a lot of the time; I have to splash through or go off the sidewalk to get around sidewalk puddles all the time.

See gross water wasting happening around you? In both Long Beach and Santa Monica, you can report sidewalk watering and lawn watering during the heat of the day, among other little watery offenses. Call 562.570.2455. in Long Beach; in Santa Monica, e-mail environment@smgov.net or call 310.458.8972.

On a more positive note, Long Beach is looking for volunteer Water Ambassadors (PDF). Plus they ran a Water is Life poster contest (PDF)-- One winning artwork's to the right.

Top image courtesy of the City of Santa Monica. Right image courtesy of the City of Long Beach.

Comments

[John]

When is the L.A. Times going to address water waste by agriculture?

I mean if you're really trying to stop the waste of water, NOT GROWING THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF RICE AND OTHER WATER INTENSIVE CROPS IN THE FRIGGIN' DESERT might be a halfway decent place to start.

And don't even get me started on livestock. Between their water consumption and the water used to grow the plants to feed them, it's a ridiculous waste.

If people would just exercise common sense and/or go vegan, we'd be in a lot better shape.

Showers and toothbrushing are just a drop in the ocean. Start with the big water wasters first.

[Don]

Forget the unnnecessary lawn watering. It's the people who use a hose instead of a broom to sweep off the sidewalk. That's the definition of wastefulness right there. The only thing that would make it worse is if they used a leaf blower-like device to spray the water so they can generate air and noise pollution while they waste water.

[Kate]

I (or various family members) lived in San Antonio for more than 20 years. San Antonio's water comes from an underground aquifer, and they do a really good job of conserving water. In general, there was plenty--but when there wasn't, first voluntary and then mandatory rationing went into effect.

And everybody knew how much water there was, because aquifer levels were considered news. They were in the paper and reported on newscasts, along with information about the trigger points for rationing.

Additionally, there were real consequences for violating the mandatory restrictions when they were in effect.

There are always scofflaws and people who looked for ways around the system (I'm looking at you, catfish farm guy), but in general, the public was informed and cooperative.

[sunsetbeachguy]

In short, the answer to the original question is yes.

The people who might be swayed by an eco-argument are needles in the proverbial haystack in greater LA.

[Siel]

Kate -- V. interesting about how keeping aquifer levels in the news was instrumental in making people think about conservation -- though it does seem that, even there, voluntary measures alone didn't suffice....

John -- I remember some articles about agriculture and water in Cali a while back in the LAT, but as you know the archives aren't accessible without shelling out $. In the meantime though you might find this Cali specific water report (PDF) from Food & Water Watch interesting.

[Lisa Taylor]

You can attend a free talk on A Sustainable Water Future for CA (Oct. 17), hosted by the Los Angeles Greens and featuring guest speaker, Dorothy Green, founder of Heal the Bay.

Recently, Ms. Green launched the California Water Impact Network (CWIN), http://www.c-win.org/ whose goal is to move our state toward a sustainable water future.

Our water resources are overcommitted. But if we learn to use the water we have more efficiently, there will be plenty of water in our state to meet all our needs. We can restore the San Francisco Bay Delta, the San Joaquin River, and lost habitats for our endangered species as well.

This is the message contained in Dorothy Green's book, Managing Water: Avoiding Crisis in California, published by UCPress. http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10611.html

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 7pm
Peace Center, 8124 W. Third Street, Los Angeles
http://losangelesgreens.org/
323-651-5539
This event is free; donations are accepted.

[Siel]

Hey Lisa -- Sorry to've missed that talk; I was at the Metro westside transit meeting. Hope it was a good time :)