Re:Epic Drought in West Is Literally Moving Mountains
by dmpayton on Friday August 22, 2014 @01:45AM
(#8211038)
Before you ration drinking water, you ban or ration washing cars, watering lawns, and laundry.
I live in Fresno, and we're not too far off from that. Come November, no one is allowed to water their lawns, and they're threatening to completely shut off the water to anyone who violates this multiple times.
Re:Epic Drought in West Is Literally Moving Mountains
by dragonwriter on Friday August 22, 2014 @02:19AM
(#8211091)
> Before you ration drinking water, you ban or ration washing cars, watering lawns, and laundry.
In the Sacramento region (and I believe other parts of the state), that's already happening. But its fairly light rationing for now, and we're very far from rationing drinking water.
Re:Epic Drought in West Is Literally Moving Mountains
by dredmorbius on Friday August 22, 2014 @07:10AM
(#8211601)
Does Sacramento have water meters yet?
Re:Epic Drought in West Is Literally Moving Mountains
by dragonwriter on Friday August 22, 2014 @09:56AM
(#8212075)
About half of the city of Sacramento proper does [1], not that you need meters to restrict lawn watering or car washing.
[1] http://portal.cityofsacramento.org/Utilities/Conservation/Wa...
Re:Epic Drought in West Is Literally Moving Mountains
by dredmorbius on Friday August 22, 2014 @05:19PM
(#8214016)
While some restrictions can be enforced via other means, metering and noting aberrantly high consumption patterns can both show unobserved violations and find other causes of wasting -- e.g., broken mains or pipes on a property.
Lawns in particular guzzle a lot of water - watering lawns would have to be fully prohibited before anyone sensible started rationing drinking water, as the latter is a public health issue, and lawns are merely pretty. Having restaurants limit water is pure theatre, as bradleyjg has already mentioned.