A recent Daily Press article revealed that water usage is up in Santa Monica despite an ongoing drought across the state.
So, this week's Q-Line question asks:
What are you willing to give up to save water in our drought-stricken region?
Here are your responses:
"It doesn't make any sense to ask the residents of Santa Monica to give up anything, per se, because of all the construction going on. … How can we save water if we keep building? In order to save water, we have to put a freeze on all building. If usage keeps going up then we can cut down on showers, watering lawns and all that, but there's no sense in cutting back on our water use if more accounts are going to get put into the water system and more people are going to be coming in and use a lot more water. So let's put a freeze on all building."
"I am not willing to give up even one more thing. I all ready take fewer showers, my lawn is brown, I flush less and wash my car less. My question is, what good does this do if the city keeps building more and more slum tenements. All of these are full of new toilet flushers who nullify my efforts. In addition, in the past in every case when the long-time citizens of an area respond effectively to a call to save water, their water bills are raised because the water provider doesn't have enough money to pay their overpriced and overcompensated employees. So it's damned if you do, and damned if you don't save water. In either case, your bill goes up."
"I'm not willing to do anything. I'll tell you why. The City Council and city planners have added 10,000 people to this city and then turn around and say, ‘Oh, we're going to be short of water.' My question is where are the questions about water consumption when these developments are planned? It is not a good planning situation and the City Council and city planners had better not come back to the citizens and say, ‘You need to conserve water.'"
"What am I willing to give up to save water in California's drought? Very ready to give up the mass importation of millions and millions of legal and illegal foreign workers. They all use water!"
"Drought? Right. Every time they say there is a drought, we have to use less water, and then they go and build all these big developments. So forget it, I will not have a brown, dead lawn just so they can build more and more. If there isn't enough water, shut their water off; I was here first."
"There are two simple solutions to the water shortage that our clueless government officials fail to do. 1) Stop all illegal immigration. 2) Build desalinization plants. Because government does neither, I will not give up anything to save water."
"I reduced my water consumption during the drought of 1990-91. I have kept those water saving practices up since then. It is now time for the city to reduce water demand. Large water using developments such as the Hines/Bergamot proposals should be rejected if the city expects citizens to further curtail water use."
"I have already given up overhead watering and a grass lawn. Most water in Santa Monica is used on landscaping. It's wrong for property owners to continue old Middle Western landscape habits. Turn off the sprinkler system, discontinue fertilizing, remove the grass, and don't let your gardener plant winter rye grass (why would you continue to waste money on a lawn you never use?). The best landscape advice I can give is to plant more trees (the world needs more oxygen), do small gardens or bright color bowls, retrofit the overhead sprinkler system with drippers (it's easy, you don't even need a professional to help you), and put down a 3-inch layer of mulch (often free through the city). Voila! Perfect garden, low water use, no run-off. By the way, maintaining your own yard is a great way to get fresh air, exercise, and perhaps lose a pound or two. Here you are, driving to the gym when instead, you can be improving your little slice of Santa Monica."
"I'm willing to give up an over-watered grass median on Olympic Boulevard from 10th Street all the way to Centinela. I'm also willing to give up the water functions of the multi-million dollar fountain in front of City Hall along with all the free water the city provides to all its Community Corporation tenants across the city."
"We lived in the Bay Area during the drought years of 1977-78, and while we were on strict water restrictions, we heard that in Los Angeles people were still washing their sidewalks and their cars. We learned to collect our shower water and rinse water from our washing machine to put on our plants, let our lawns go dry, and didn't wash our cars every other day. (In fact, I now keep my car clean using a polish that is superior to the hose.) It is only common sense that people shouldn't run water while brushing their teeth or after washing, shouldn't wash the sidewalks — a broom works just as well, and let their cars be a little dirty. Mainly, people should be aware that there is a severe drought and think about how they use water and try to conserve."
