The World Is Laughing At Us
3 hours ago
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Ohhh, Thank Goodness
After a month of worrying about the next water bill, what a relief it was to open the mail today and have it be the exact same amount as the previous month. It sure seemed like thousands of gallons covered my bathroom and kitchen floors. Maybe being out of town for week helped even things out. Regardless, Phew!
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What a relief for you! That's the one bill we don't have on levelized billing. (it's nice knowing electricity and natural gas are fairly constant year round) We had our own water well and sewage treatment plant for years, so it was a rude awakening to start getting billed for both when we finally made the switch to city water. While I'd still say the pros of city water are greater than the cons, there are times I wonder if we made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteI bet the week out of town IS what evened things out. You timed that right in your billing cycle! ;)
Yah, I'm sure there are pros and cons to both options. When I lived on the East Coast a lot of the homes had their own wells and tanks and pumps. If there was a problem though, it was the homeowners responsibility. I'm glad that I don't have to deal with that too, as there always seemed to be septic and well issues that people were dealing with. I have a hard enough time taking care of what I'm responsible for so am glad that's not a worry too. I'm happy to let them do it. :)
ReplyDeleteSomething we are struggling with right now is that each of our counties have and overarching water agency and then within those counties are several city/area water agencies. Some agencies begin the conservation effort sooner than others - mine started about a year ago - while others didn't do a thing until the mandatory restrictions were imposed a couple of months ago. The state imposed a blanket percentage to all the agencies, which meant the ones who had already started the restrictions, had to restrict even more while those who hadn't had to, but far less than those who'd already been conserving. Does that make sense? :) There are places like Beverly Hills and cities in Orange County who have done very little and willing/able to take the fines, and the rest of us are being told to conserve more. The good news is, we have reduced water 27% and the goal was 25! Yay us! Because there was a little part of me that worried my "flood" would ruin it for everyone. :)
Yes, that does make sense, but I won't pretend to understand all the ins and outs of California's laws or even the thought process there. I basically know what I see on the news and it's apparent there are areas that want to "comply" more than others. (and why do I feel such disgust for those who are privileged and think they're above things?)
DeleteAnyway...I know you were concerned about your contribution and that it seemed huge at the time, but I feel it's a much more cumulative effect than just one-time accidents like that.
It is disgusting! That seems to be our biggest problem these days doesn't it?!? The conscientious aren't the ones making the decisions.
DeleteWow, I'd forgotten you had to pay hugely for water. Stil the really bad leaks are the ones you don't see. I got curious a while back when we spoke about water in LA as to where on earth it came from and my-oh-my is it a triumph of money over sense. The channels, open channels, you could have your own tourist industry with canal barges.
ReplyDeleteThe loss by the companies from source to city is massive. And because of the conservation in the cities by you, they have absolutely no reason to do anything about it.
But you could stop drinking water along with half the city and it will make little long term difference. The problem needing solving instantly is the loss in the system. It' s just easier to sell that you are using too much and force you to half use and double the costs on the rest.
Yah, that's the most frustrating thing. They say that residents account for 2% of the state's water usage. 2%!!!! When big ag and oil (fracking) are using the majority of it. So it really doesn't matter how much we conserve...we could all stop using it completely and it wouldn't really make a dent. I think we all know that, but we also know we're the ones who will get dinged or pay through the nose, so I think there's hope that saving now will at least keep that from happening so quickly.
DeleteBut, as you said, there are so many other things that need to be done, infrastructure wise, that arent being done. But then infrastructure hasn't been this country's priority in quite sometime has it?
I've read some articles about small farms who have changed their water and energy practices and are doing quite well with it while saving tons of water. But no one is requiring the big companies to do that. And there are tons of excuses about why they can't cover the water or desalinate etc etc.
The scientists are quite sure El Nino will be here this year which, if it does happen will help a lot with ground and well water. But it won't help with snow pack.
Did you see they have filled the reservoirs with black balls to prevent evaporation.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDHcn1qhaas
I did! Isn't it funny/strange/cool?!?! Saving 300 million gallons a year from evaporation! Too bad "we" didn't think of it sooner. I will say, watching the newscasters talk about "balls" in various forms, trying to keep a straight face has been giggle-worthy. :) I think they are made right here too, so that's good too.
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