Can't speak for all of the Western states, but in SF it's basic hygiene to get piss off the sidewalk so that your store doesn't smell like it. Maybe there is a less wasteful way though, not sure.

"Can't speak for all of the Western states, but in SF it's basic hygiene to get piss off the sidewalk" This cracks me up. As someone who lives in a Eastern state I sincerely hope that doesn't speak for all western states, I've never heard of that.

Clearly you've never been to Manhattan or Boston!! Plenty of pungent smells in the East too. It just rains more.

No. It’s mainly just SF and To some degree parts of CA. It’s getting pretty bad in many parts of SF

In LA you would think it would be for the piss too, but it seems mostly to get off small leaves and dirt from the sidewalk that might take you ten extra minutes to sweep instead up, and you see it both in areas with encampments and without.

How about charging them a fair price for the water they use, and letting them decide if that's worth it or find alternatives if it's not?

It shouldn't as the vast majority of water is wasted growing fruits and vegetables in what is basically desert/semi-desert areas. Watering lawns and sidewalks is small potatoes in comparison, yet very few people complain about the 80% problem and preach to their neighbors about the 20% issue.