Protect your water rights - use it or lose it

[snousle]

Looks like we're going to have a dry year in California. Reservoir levels are not terrible, but rainfall has been very low. Another dry winter could result in shortages. One hopes this doesn't happen - and there have been plenty of wet springs in the past - but its looking increasingly likely.

This is the kind of year where the state and municipal governments suggest an array of voluntary conservation measures. These measures are not about conserving water as such, they are actually about stripping residential users of their water rights. When things get really tight, and voluntary conservation turns into mandatory rationing, the rationing is typically based on previous use; individuals that "conserved" because they thought it was "the right thing to do" get screwed, while profligate users are rewarded with a still-ample supply. So now is the time to stake your claim.

Remember, kids, whiskey is for drinkin', water is for fightin'.

Comments

[pink-halen.livejournal.com]

I once saw a bumper sticker that read,
"Spend Water like Money."

It certainly would be better to set water right precedence on the consumption of years farther in the past. That wouldn't sway the totals based on the current use. In the end, I don't think water rights mean a lot and consumers will use until there is no more.

In Kansas. I own a well with a water right number of 456 and wells with right numbers in the 20,000s. It really doesn't matter if I have the right to the water if there is no water to be had.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

Of course, the sane thing would be to say to someone whose usage for a particular size of household is already frugal, "you're doing a great job - no need for further water restrictions for you!" while the guy across the street who's using 3x as much gets slammed.

But there I go expecting sanity out of bureaucracy....

Here in Glendale, there's a bit of an ongoing tiff because of limitations on lawn watering, but at the same time the city has rules prohibiting the use of artificial turf or other means of getting rid of pointless water-hungry grass - on top of the regs that require keeping a lawn green. *eyeroll*

[broduke2000.livejournal.com]

No, no no! Water is for making love, not war!

[barbarian-rat.livejournal.com]

egad ... with today's artificial turf that looks good they need to revise their regulations.
There are other communities that have come down on people who plant their front yards with other than lawn. although, bot be fair, it's more often than not, people who let their front yards "go native" that get in trouble.