The proposal establishes a baseline of 2006 and asks us to reduce our water use to what we used that year.
Let’s stop belly-aching and pull together this summer. By acting together today, we can forestall or avoid more severe measures and rate hikes tomorrow.
Radical conservation methods work. Residents of Santa Monica conserved so much water last year that their water rates are not going up. Santa Monica actively encourages practices like filling rooftop cisterns with rainwater, and the city is cleaning up its old local wells to put well water back in circulation.
Alas, Glendalians did not heed years of dire warnings from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and conservationists. We reduced our water use by only 4% — far short of the 10% needed. We must do better, because of the reduced availability of water from our major supplier, MWD.
There are many water-saving measures we could adopt in Glendale to cut our consumption rates and help avoid future rate hikes. Some cities have mandated practices that we aren’t even discussing yet.
You say you already ripped out your thirsty backyard lawn, stopped running the dishwasher when it was only half full, and replaced an old shower nozzle? Congratulations, you have been doing your part! But you need to do more. Take an even shorter shower. Did you know that cutting one or two minutes off your shower use can save up to 700 gallons per month?
