I just sent the following to the mayor and members of the city council about SCEs water rationing program and the need for a minimum lifeline level of water provided to each residence: Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council, This morning I mailed a letter to Ron Hite and copied it to Ann Marshalls e-mail. I wanted to offer a very brief summary to everyone as to the purpose of that letter. When I was given my initial allocation of water under Stage II, I received as little as 7-9 gallons/person/day (g/p/d) as my allotment. This is because we have been conserving in my household for many years. I protested this allocation and the revised allocation still gave us as little as 9 g/p/d. This is absolutely preposterous. If we reach Stage III and IV, I may have to move off the island just to survive (3-6 g/p/d?). A number of our long-term residents have been very good at conserving water even prior to the current crisis. Those who have conserved have far less headroom to effect further conservation. If one is taking 1-2 short (2 min = 5 gal) showers a week, are they supposed to cut back to none? If they are washing one load of clothes per week, are they supposed to cut back to one per month? I think not. Those who have not conserved have plenty of leeway with which to bring their use in line with their allocations. It is my opinion that requiring those with extremely low historic water use to cut back 25-50-75% is just not rational. Instead there should be a more fair approach that takes into account the fact that those who have conserved over the past few years are not the ones who brought us to the present crisis, but the ones who helped delay it. It is also my opinion that the City should effect a Lifeline Limit on water supplied to any residence. There are already laws at the county level and elsewhere that require a water utility to provide a minimum level of water supply for public health and safety. The City, in consultation with experts on water use, should determine a minimum amount of water that MUST be supplied to every individual. SCE should not be allowed to restrict some to a few g/p/d while others get allocations of 30 or more g/p/d because theyve used far more water in the past. It is important that SCE address this crisis in a manner which is fair to all residents, especially those who have been conserving all along. Sincerely, Dr. William W. Bushing
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:04:33 +0000
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