By Meredith Sublett Santa Monica
In order to protect the city of Santa Monica from severe water shortages and save our ocean from pollution, we must not waste this valuable natural resource on such frivolous actions like hosing down sidewalks, driveways, patios, alleys or parking spaces. We need to only water our lawns in the early morning or late to early evening, and not in the middle of the day, when the heat rises and will evaporate the water. Just because we enjoy the look of a fountain or a pond, we must remember that using water to keep them full is not a necessity and is only going to hurt us in the near future. The city of Santa Monica doesn’t even want residents to be washing their cars or serving water in restaurants unless someone requests a glass. We need to make sure we fix any water leaks right away and that we don’t have runoff from our lawns into the streets, alleys or gutters.
If everyone saved 20 gallons of water a day, then our city would be protected against possible water shortage and we would not be facing this problem. In Santa Monica, a lot of homes use half their water on their lawns and other outdoor areas, like swimming pools, and this is not good. Because it doesn’t rain here a lot, our area is dry, and that is why fires can start so quickly and spread. The city has a lot of good suggestions on how to save water each day and some are as simple as not running your dishwasher unless it is full, not using your toilet as a wastebasket and turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth or rinse dishes.
Every resident in Santa Monica can make a difference if they only understood how important it was to save water, and then that when water from our land runs off into the storm drains, it eventually make its way to the Santa Monica Bay, and that is not good. Years ago, people thought that the big companies or factories were contributing to the pollution problem and that sewage treatment plants were doing the most harm. But we now know that is not the case and if we just practice good household tips and habits, we can make a huge difference and play a part in keeping clean, green and healthy.
If you don’t obey the No Water Waste Ordinance you may receive a violation or fine like what happened to one of my neighbors. She received a $250,000 fine for washing her car in her driveway. The city came out and took pictures of her wet car and driveway and mailed her a violation letter telling her she had to pay the fine. The city also provides resources on how not to get fines and what we can do to help save water and stop pollution, like tips for landscaping, cleaning, repairing leaks, servicing swimming pools, stop run-off by practicing good housekeeping, taking care of our cars and driveways and better ways to redirect the water.
So, if we want to avoid pollution to the ocean and bay, decrease the amount and spread of wildfires, save our homes and pockets money and use our water wisely, it is important to listen to what the city has to say and obey the laws. You may think it’s a hassle to obey these water laws and keep our streets clean, but when we do this, this will help our water control and pollution. If we don’t obey the laws, and pay attention, then the problems will get worse and worse and we won’t have enough water for what is a necessity. The city has gone to a lot of trouble, time and resource to help the residents who live in Santa Monica because they care about how to keep where we live great and we need to respond by at least trying to save water and think about the future. So start conversing [sic] water today so that tomorrow we have a future.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 14, 2008. Read the original PDF.