Let’s Stay Out of Backyards, Bathrooms

Editor,

When Gov. Brown announced mandatory water cut backs, he was asked “will the state favor one type of water use over another, should one crop get water versus another, should one form of personal consumption be favored over another?” His response was “That’s a Big Brother move and we’re not in that position. As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the proper use of water is to some extent subjective.”

In response to a similar question, Christopher Regan, the Laguna Beach County Water District assistant general manager, said, “Customers should aim to lower consumption based on their budgeted allotment, but use that allotment as they see fit.”

A broken pipe that goes unrepaired is a waste of water. However, that may be the extent of what each of us considers a waste of water. One person’s rose garden is another person’s large dog. One person’s lawn is another person’s swimming pool.

Half the water used in Laguna Beach is for landscape irrigation. Educating people with suggestions on watering wisely is helpful and constructive. Making it a crime to water more than twice a week is not constructive and pits neighbor against neighbor as watchdogs. It’s very possible the person who appears to be watering too much is conserving even more water in other areas.

ConsumerReports.Org says America’s second largest use of water (30%) is toilets. Older toilets use 3-5 gallons per flush. Newer toilets use 50 percent less. A low-flow toilet costs $200, about the cost of initially filling a swimming pool (18,000 gallons). Just like the efficient toilet saves water each year, a covered pool uses less water than even drought-tolerant landscaping each year thereafter.

Laguna’s two-tiered water measuring system allows us to know who is cutting back their use of water and who is not. For those of us who already have cut back, we may not need to do anything else. For those who use more than their allotment based on the mandate, we know who you are and you’ll get the opportunity to make a financial contribution to the city (ie. all of us) in the form of a surcharge, etc. Let’s stay out of people’s backyards and bathrooms and let them decide what they consider essential water use and where to cut back.

Philip W. Shayne, Laguna Beach