Californians fined heavily for long showers

[kana_marie]

GOV JERRY BROWN: CALIFORNIANS TO BE HEAVILY FINED FOR LONG SHOWERS


Brown
Breitbart Non-Syndicated




00:00 / 03:52
by PAM KEY
5 Apr 2015
3902
Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,†Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) said Californians will face heavy fines for taking long showers.


Brown said, “This executive order is done under emergency power. It has the force of law. Very unusual. It’s requiring action and changes in behavior from the Oregon border all the way to the Mexican border. It affects lawns. It affects people’s — how long they stay in the shower. How businesses use water.â€


Brown said to enforce his order, “Each water district that actually delivers waters — water to homes and businesses, they carry it out. We have a state water board that overseas the relationships with the districts. Hundreds of them. If they don’t comply, people can be fined $500 a day. Districts can go to court to get a cease and desist order. The enforcement mechanism is powerful. In a drought of this magnitude, you have to change that behavior and you have to change it substantially.â€


Guest host host Martha Raddatz pointed out, “More water used for almond production than is used by all residents and businesses in San Francisco and Los Angeles combined.â€


Brown countered by saying, “Farm workers who are — very low end of the economic scale here, are out of work. There are people in agriculture areas that are suffering. Who are providing food.†adding, “They’re not watering their lawn or taking long showers. They’re providing most of the fruits and vegetables of America. And a significant part of the wrld.â€


Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

 

[jeremy2]

Water has become a matter of life and death and whatever steps are being undertaken should be supported by all in light of the recent drought affecting large parts of California. I hope this measures however punitive they may feel like will only be on the short term as the authorities look for other alternatives.

 

[bala]

Of course the "drought" still hasn't died down and they aim at curbing usage,i mean to the requisite extent.Only if something is done like this will they know their own situation.For that instance it has become a scarcity across the globe,lets start fining people across the entire globe.

 

[oraclemay]

I think people need to make a concerted effort to save water worldwide as it is another precious commodity we cannot survive without. It would be wonderful if the water wasting culprits can be traced and singled out. This may make a difference.

 

[missbishi]

How on earth would they know whether someone was taking a long shower or not? I can't imagine that all the homes in California have smart water meters. Still, asking people to reduce their general water consumption does seem like a good idea. I can imagine that if individual districts get fined, the cost will be covered by increases in service charges.

 

[Rainman]

Would they still be fining people for taking long showers forever? I mean, droughts don't last forever. However temporary measures such as this are ineffective. Several desalination plants would permanently fix this problem. There's enough water in the Pacific ocean after all.

 

[dyanmarie25]

Water is truly essential. It's one of the basic needs of people and one thing I know for sure is we should always try to conserve water. This policy/law is actually a good one but I don't know how they'll be able to keep track of the showers. I mean, that sounds a bit funny.

 

[Josie]

Livestock uses 40% of California's water. I think priorities need to change..

 

[bala]

Water is truly essential. It's one of the basic needs of people and one thing I know for sure is we should always try to conserve water. This policy/law is actually a good one but I don't know how they'll be able to keep track of the showers. I mean, that sounds a bit funny.

No we have the same concept in India,but its yet to be implemented.
There is a limit to water you can use here too,limited to 800 litres per household and the line to it will note the measurements.With that if anything extra crops up,u pay.

 

[Nate]

I'm not sure how I feel about that, although water wasters do annoy me. I had a roommate who would take 1 hour showers, and who knows what all he was doing in there. It doesn't take THAT long to scrub and clean your body.

 

[JoanMcWench]

They're not tackling the real issues: almonds & vineyards. It sounds crazy but it's true. Look it up. Do you know how much water it takes to grow almonds? It's crazy. I love almonds & almond milk but come on! I can do without almonds for water. Wine...maybe not...

 

[wahmed]

Thank god I don't live in California. My letterbox would be flooded with fines. Its not possible to have a short shower. The words don't existvin my house.

 

[bala]

I'm not sure how I feel about that, although water wasters do annoy me. I had a roommate who would take 1 hour showers, and who knows what all he was doing in there. It doesn't take THAT long to scrub and clean your body.

Lolz..do you really think people stay in there just to scrub their bodies..?

Lolz..I meant ..People wash clothes ..sing.. stuff like that ..LOL..

 

[Josie]

1 almond = 1 gallon of water. 1 burger = 660 gallons of water.

 

[Shimus]

1 almond = 1 gallon of water. 1 burger = 660 gallons of water.

Might I ask where you got these numbers from? This doesn't seem quite right. 660 Gallons for one Burger? Even if the cow consumed that in their life, they make more than one burger so I fail to see the connection.

As for the main comments, I agree with "Those words don't exist in my house" - we don't pay for water here, so I drain the shower and it's REAL hot at that.

 

[lushlala]

I can totally relate to what's going on in California, because Botswana has had an ongoing drought for years too. We could do with the same stringent laws. It seems harsh, but when you hear that we've nearly exhausted our main water supply/source, it's pretty scary. We rarely get any rain, and are subjected to regular water rations. It gets my goat to see people waste water as if they've not "got the memo" about the dire situation we face!

Not sure how the authorities propose to monitor the length of showers per household, though.