标题: The Necessity of Saving Water in California Drought [打印本页] 作者: choi 时间: 5-10-2014 09:14 标题: The Necessity of Saving Water in California Drought Felicity Barringer, In California, Spigots Start Draining Pockets; Fines and fees raise water costs for heavy users. New York Times, May 9, 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/05/09/us/a- ... cess-water-use.html
Excerpt in the window of print: First utilities changed equipment. Now they want to change behaviors.
Quote:
“The message [to save water] irritates some people, particularly those with mansions surrounded by lush lawns and ornamental plantings. One person from a district just south of here was playing golf with Mr [Tim] Quinn[, the head of the Association of California Water Agencies, or ACWA,] at a Monterey country club recently. When he learned that his golf partner worked in water services, the man complained bitterly about his $5,000 monthly bill. Mr Quinn replied, ‘I think your water agency is trying to tell you something.’
“Starting about two decades ago, in water districts in Southern California like Irvine Ranch and San Juan Capistrano, rate-setters decided that the fairest way to encourage conservation was to assess how much each individual account needed and then to set tiers. A family with six children needed more essential water than a family with two; a house in a warm, dry microclimate needed more than a house shrouded in fog. This process of water ‘budgeting’ is now in place in 20 of the more than 700 California water districts, and it is spreading fast. * * * Water budgeting, known in the industry as ‘allocation pricing,’ may violate California law, which requires that the cost of a government service like water delivery be based on the cost of providing the service.
Note:
(a) Santa Cruz, California
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_California
(Situated on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay; Mission Santa Cruz in 1791)
(b) “Santa Cruz, whose fresh water supplies come from the shrinking San Lorenzo River and a small reservoir, has gone further than other strapped utilities in embracing the idea of rationing, with fines for those who exceed their allotted shares.”
San Lorenzo River
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Lorenzo_River
(c)
(i) About Us. Irvine Ranch Water District, undated www.irwd.com/about-us/
(Established in 1961; is an independent special district serving Central Orange County)
(ii) Irvine, California
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irvine,_California
(in Orange County; [named after] James Irvine)
(d) San Juan Capistrano, California
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Capistrano,_California
(in Orange County; Mission San Juan Capistrano, founded in 1776)
(i) The mission was “named for Giovanni da Capistrano, a 15th-century theologian” in Italy. Wikipedia
(ii) Juan in Spanish = Giovanni in Italian = John in English