Water Rationing: What’s Fair?

I was happy this week to see that California Gov. Jerry Brown has mandated a 25 percent reduction in water use. I’m all behind it—it’s been more than two years since I’ve watered either my front or my back lawn in San Francisco and much longer than that since I’ve washed my car at any place that doesn’t use recycled water.

So I worry, as I’m guessing many others do, that once again water districts across the state will ask, or more likely this time require, their customers to cut back their consumption by 5, 10, possibly 30 percent. And my concern here is that this punishes residents and businesses who have already cut back water use smartly and severely and rewards those who still insist on watering their lawns, washing their cars, and using their showers to wake up or soak their aching muscles.

I hope that water districts will look at the number of people living in each house and say you get this many gallons every month for each family member. That strikes this Libra as fair.

What do you think is fair?