Subject: Change water priorities in times of drought

The Sacramento Bee recently reported on a couple who face a fine for not irrigating their lawn (http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1054905.html). While fundamentally the issue was about aesthetics (I think…maybe it was neighborhood politics) the effect was official sanctioning of wasteful watering of lawns in a city with one of the highest per capita water uses in the world. So I wrote a letter to my council member, the only responsible thing to do:

Mr. Fong,

I was quite surprised when I read in the Sacramento Bee about a couple facing a fine for conserving water by not irrigating their lawn (http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1054905.html).

While I certainly understand the need to maintain healthy and aesthetically acceptable areas around our houses, a fine for not irrigating a lawn in a drought year is irresponsible at best. As a water resources professional, I see a fundamental disconnect between attempts to more efficiently manage water at the state-wide level and demand management at the municipality level.

We should be encouraging as little water use as possible by promoting, for example, use of native vegetation and other low to zero irrigation schemes, rather than penalizing those who realize that we do, indeed, live in a dry region and choose to act accordingly.

I thank you for your concern for and leadership in responsible water use.

Regards, David R… (Land Park)