Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 8, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 10, 2014 Page: 8 of 40
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8A
Sunday, August 10, 2014
NATIONAL
Denton Record-Chronicle
Water wasters get schooled on drought, conservation
By Martha Mendoza
AP National Writer
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Some
overindulged their zucchini
patch. Others didn’t bother with
that dripping kitchen sink But
now every Monday night in this
drought-stricken beach town,
dozens of residents who violated
their strict rations take a seat at
Water School, hoping to get hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars in
distressing penalties waived.
Nik Martinelli, a Santa Cruz
water-conservation specialist
who is up before dawn patrol-
ling for overwatered lawns,
launched a recent lesson.
“We all know why you’re here.
You all went over your allotment
and got a big penalty” he said.
Margaret Hughes nodded
grimly. Her $210 water bill came
with a $775 fine last month. She
drove from her home four hours
north of town to face the scold-
ing, even though she had no idea
the toilet in a vacant house she
inherited had been leaking.
Two hours later, everyone was
ready to ace their Water School
quiz, identifying the community’s
sparse water sources, listing ways
to conserve water, describing how
to use their water meters to check
for leaks.
“They’re turning this into
something positive,” said Hughes,
adding that she might take ad-
vantage of a $150 rip-out-your-
lawn rebate she learned about
California is in the third year
of the state’s worst drought in re-
cent history. Farmland is going
fallow. Lakes are turning to
mud. Golf courses, cemeteries
and parks are browning.
Earlier in the year when win-
ter storms didn’t blow in and the
forecast was grim, most com-
munities took the “ask nicely”
approach, suggesting residents
cut water use by 20 percent.
But Santa Cruz, a coastal
town about 60 miles south of
San Francisco, couldn’t afford to
wait
Unlike most cities that have
either groundwater, a connec-
tion to state water canals, or vast
reservoirs, Santa Cruz is among
those worst hit by the drought
because what makes it special —
the town is surrounded by ocean
and mountains — also means it
relies almost exclusively on
storm runoff into a river, creeks
and an aging reservoir.
“We’re completely depen-
dent on Mother Nature, so we’re
vulnerable” Santa Cruz Water
Director Rosemary Menard
said. “There really is no carrot in
the situation that we’re facing.
We had to ration.”
The city cracked down in
May, deploying “drought bust-
ers,” whom locals call “water
cops,” to warn — and then pe-
nalize — anyone openly water-
ing between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
washing down pavement or re-
filling a spa A logo, “Surf City
Saves,” was launched, and a hot-
line to tatde on water wasters
and mandatory household lim-
its, allowing just 249 gallons per
day for a family of four, were set
A typical dishwasher load is 20
gallons, a load of laundry can be
25 gallons, a toilet flush can be 3
gallons. It adds up. Nationally, a
family of four averages 400 gal-
lons a day.
Most Santa Cruz residents,
94 percent of them, cut back as
required, some with zeal.
Energy consultant Joel
Kauffman has his household of
three adults and a toddler using
just over 100 gallons a day.
Kauffman has installed low-
flow toilets and showerheads.
They don’t always flush urine,
they water their fruit trees with
laundry runoff and a shower
bucket gets dumped in the toilet
tank or in the garden.
Some were not so ardent
In June, the first month of ra-
tioning rules, 1,635 Santa Cruz
household accounts faced
$34f000 in fines. In July, 2,121
accounts had penalties applied,
totaling $175,725.
So far $202,340 in fines have
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been suspended for Water
School graduates. And there’s a
waiting list for weeks to come.
While Santa Cruz has cutback
25 percent of its water use, Gov.
Jerry Brown’s request in January
that everyone cutback 20 percent
had the opposite effect statewide.
Some districts actually used
more, prompting a 1 percent in-
crease in water use statewide. So
starting in August, authorities are
imposing statewide rationing
with fines of up to $500 a day for
residents who waste water on
lawns, landscaping and washing
cars. Water cops are being hired
and fines imposed.
Water Education Founda-
tion Deputy Director Sue
McClurg said they haven’t heard
about schooling repeat offend-
ers, “but if it can educate cus-
tomers on water conservation, it
could be helpfixl.”
University of California, Da-
vis, professor Jay Lund, who di-
rects the Center for Watershed
Sciences, laughed when he
heard about Santa Cruz’s ap-
proach, but he said it might
catch on.
“It makes sense, like traffic
school,” he said. “It has an educa-
tional purpose, but also a pun-
ishment aspect to it”
JPENTON
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Adult Education Program
We provide the following classes, free to the public in our Program:
English as a Second Language (ESL)
GED Preparation
El Civics (Citizenship preparation classes)
Registration for ESL and GED will be on August 18-21 and 25-28, 2014
Registration for EL-Civics (Citizenship) will be on August 25-28,2014
These classes are FREE to the public of 18 years and older
FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION PLEASE CALL:
(940) 369-0091
Daniel Correa, Coordinator of Adult Education
Steve Johnson, Director of Adult Education
\iin<‘ii es tarde nara anrender.
■>
Nuestro Programa ofrece las siguientes clases y gratis al publico:
Ingles como Segundo Lenguaje (ESL)
Clases de Preparacion para el GED (las clases son solamente en Ingles)
Clases de preparacion para la ciudadania (EL-Civics)
Inscripciones para ESL y GED son del 18-21 y del 25-28 de agosto, 2014
inscripciones para las Clases de Ciudadania son 25-28 de agosto, 2014
Estas clases son GRATUITAS y se ofrecen a todas las personas de 18 ahos en adelante.
INFORMACION PARA INSCRIBIRSE, FAVOR DE LLAMAR A:
(940) 369-0091
Daniel Correa, Coordinator of Adult Education
Steve Johnson, Director of Adult Education
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DENTON
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 8, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 10, 2014, newspaper, August 10, 2014; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1124719/m1/8/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .