Turn off, dry out, pay up

Recently, Sacramento got some summer heat relief via light rainfall. Unfortunately, what fell doesn’t add up to a drop in the bucket when it comes to California’s ongoing drought.

Nor does an announcement from the State Water Resources Control Board mandating that public agencies, individuals and businesses can now be prosecuted and fined $500 per day for water waste.

For starters, many water providers have already said they won't levy the hefty ticket, according to a July 21 story in The Sacramento Bee. Instead, they'll stick to the current system of warnings and smaller fines.

It's not enough. The city may have reduced its collective water usage by 13 percent compared to numbers from the past three years (see “Nestlé and drought, SN&R Editorial, page 15), yet I still see a surprising number of vibrant green lawns—both residential and commercial. An evening neighborhood stroll usually turns up more than one well-watered sidewalk as well.

According to a report at Climate Central, an independent coalition of scientists and journalists, nearly 70 percent of California is mired in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought conditions. Compare this to my hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas, which is currently embroiled in a “stage 5 catastrophic drought.” Maybe it's because Texas has burned hot and dry for years, but there, state-mandated restrictions mean no lush lawns, no green golf courses, no watery slabs of concrete.

Restrictions are enforced, fines are collected, and, as my mother tells it, everyone knows better than to put aesthetics before the climate.

“We just have dead grass. Everybody does,” she says.

It's time Sacramentans followed. Turn off the water, dry out your lawns (and sidewalks), or pay up.