Who is Saving Water?

If you have ever wondered why some Northern Californians want to break up the Golden state, take a look at the latest water conservation studies. I don’t know if the idea of breaking California into six states makes sense, but two…most probably yes.

The main issue would have to be water. Water is central to our very existence. It is central to growing food and to our economy as a whole. In this time when water officials are putting in draconian regulations of fines (up to $500!) for some water running into the streets and wanting us to let our landscaping die, pee sit in toilets, not shower as much and still raise rates, look at who is saving water and who isn’t.

The Central Valley is saving water 10% to 13% and it has cost the state $2.2 billion in lost farm production. 5% of the state’s farmland is being pushed out of production. The Central Coast is saving 10%…the North Coast, which gets the most rain, is saving 12%. The Bay Area is saving 5%. The North State is shipping water south to LA and San Diego, water usage is up…again…to 8%.

The South State’s only water supply is shipped from the east and north, yet it is using more water with clear knowledge that there is a drought.

If I sound angry… I am. The name of this commentary is Making Sense, but I’m not going to even try to address both sides here, because there aren’t two sides.

The south gets its water from the north and wastes it, doesn’t cut back and expects more, while state water officials want to turn neighbor against neighbor, snitching to authorities. I’m surprised they haven’t put a bounty out…a reward for those who snitch on somebody who is watering his or her lawn.

It was like this in the seventies when I first moved to Northern California from Southern California where I was raised. We didn’t give a damn about water when I was growing up and they still don’t down there. Since the 1970’s when the state knew there was going to be a severe problem, it hasn’t done squat. It has built a couple of water storage facilities to hold water to appease critics, but it still continues to flush water into the ocean in wet years and cry bloody murder in dry years. The governor’s idea of a “fix” is to send more water south.

This whole situation is ridiculous. I saw one analysis that said Southern Californians don’t understand the situation because they live so far away from the water supply. Well they had better start understanding. We in the north do understand and it may be why the state should be split in two. Six, maybe not so much, but a split in two deserves a serious discussion.

It would be nice if the water genie could just pop some water on us, but that’s not going to happen. To say that the state of California isn’t conserving water is only true because of one part of the state, the south. History pretty much tells us it’s not going to learn the conservation message until it is cut off. Make sense?

Ed Baxter can be heard along with over a dozen spoken word personalities at  thetalkpod.com.