• Water Restriction Time: Stage II

I'm guessing that we all got one of these in the mail.

Click the image to enlarge it (or do that finger spreading thing if you have a smart phone).

The question is, did any of us read it?

Complaining about the local utilities is as American as apple pie, and for good reason. There is a long track record of shell game antics when it comes to those that provide basic necessities to us. We all remember ENRON and as for water, just google DWP Slush Fund and read about the ruckus that's been roiling LA for months not to mention the local LEAPS project that seemed more like a three stooges scheme than an environmentally sound idea.

Curly: We'll pump water up a hill at night, then send it downhill in the daytime.

Voila, we'll be millionaires!       Moe: Why you imbecile, I oughta brain you!

Thing is, this isn't about that end of things. It's about how much water we have here versus how many people we have wanting to use water here. California is a desert and we've never gotten much rain even in the "normal" years. However, we've basically doubled our population since the time I was in grade school, so something's gotta give.

I've always quibbled with the overuse of the term "drought"... unless we were actually in one, which California has been for some time now. Still, I remember times when we were coming out of a good rainy season, and people saying, "That doesn't mean the drought is over." Ummm, yes it did.

The thing I've never quibbled about is that we are in a constant state of having a water shortage. Unless historic weather patterns change, and we start getting rain like they do in the Pacific Northwest, we will have water shortage conditions as long as California exists with its ever-burgeoning population. So that makes it incumbent upon the residents to use the resource wisely.

If you look at the postcard from EVMWD you'll see things that are reasonable. Do you really need to bathe your driveway or sidewalks?

There is a water wise landscape workshop Saturday, September 13^th from 9am-12noon at EVMWD.

EVMWD also has a page with tips on how to save water indoors.

Speaking of saving water indoors... a couple of years ago EVWMD had a program that we took them up on. It was a toilet exchange deal.

My free toilet can beat up your toilet everyday of the week!

I'm sure we all love toilet talk [ewww] but seriously... the two we got from them have been great. Check that, one of the two failed after nearly a year and they replaced it right away. For all the jokes about having to flush 5 times when you have a lo-flow toilet, that simply hasn't been the case. It's one-and-done around here!

Oh, and one other thing about the model they installed (the Stealth). They are the taller type, and after being perched on high for the last couple of years, I giggle when I visit people that still use the short kiddie level toilets... but to each his own. ☺


Anyway, we have more people in this state than we have water, and for all the chest thumping some people like to do... that's what we Americans love to do whenever we get a chance, no matter what the topic is, but I digress... water is something we can't do without, and a laissez-faire attitude isn't going to cut it. I'm not so sure that I'm in favor of the fines that have been proposed. $500 for over watering is what has gotten people's attention.

According to EVWMD, this is a double no-no since the watering is after 6:00AM and the sidewalks are wet.

Quote from the USA TODAY:
Though Gov. Jerry Brown had urged a voluntary 20% reduction in water use, figures released last month indicated a drop of only 5% statewide for the year. But the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday updated the monthly survey from water districts to show that consumption had increased 1% in May compared with a year ago.

Well, Yeah... we have more people, so even if individuals find a way to use less water, we should expect that overall use will go up.

When we moved into Wildomar back in 2001, we had a ton of grass. Being on a corner, it wrapped all the way around the house. We first removed the side yard grass, then the front yard grass and now we are reduced to a patch in the backyard that is about 12x30. [The dogs have to have something to try and turn yellow, plus it only takes me about three and a half minutes to mow.]

Most of my neighbors still have full grass front yards. 

We enjoy the park-like views from our front windows... just glad the water bill isn't being sent to our address.

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As much as I'm a code enforcement type of guy, I'm not ready for any neighborhood water watch committees. People are paying for the water they use, and the billing is tiered. The more they use/waste, the steeper the bill. That seems like punishment enough at this point in time. Thing is, many people are stubborn folk and they ain't gonna let the gubment tell them how to live. So I'm thinking that voluntary restrictions will be short lived if we have another dry year.


Below is one of my favorite pictures. It was taken during the day we had heavy rains back at the end of February. I'm thinking that this person doesn't read his/her water bill very closely.

♪ Sprinklers in the rain... (sing it as Gene Kelly would).

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