Did you hear the one about the top L.A. water official who uses twice as much water as the average guy and wants other people to drink recycled water because there's not enough to go around?
Not funny? How's this: The head of the Long Beach water agency uses one-sixth as much water for his family of five as David Nahai, the head of L.A.'s DWP, does for his family of five.
I'm dying out here trying to get a laugh.
So not only does Long Beach water chief Kevin Wattier conserve himself but he's got the whole town doing it. Water consumption in Long Beach in June was at a 10-year-low for that month. It was 5.7 percent lower than any in June in a decade, 10.5 percent below the 10-year average and for that last 12 months Long Beach is using 7 percent less water than the average of the last 10 years.
Now that's funny, you got to admit. Especially when you know L.A.'s water use is just about at the average of recent years -- 2.4 percent lower than last year but 20.5 percent higher than two years ago.
So next time you hear the mayor, your City Council member or David Nahai talk about how "green" they are, you can laugh in their face certain in the knowledge that they are hypocrites and deceivers.
It's Long Beach that's green and every water official knows why. Kevin Wattier didn't talk about conserving water, he did something about it -- last September -- when he figured out that California is facing a water crisis. Demand exceeds supply and it's not a temporary problem.
"We're really in trouble," Wattier told me. "We need to make permanent lifestyle changes. Everybody in Southern California needs to permanently reduce their water use. We're at the tipping point and we need to face reality."
Not funny? How's this: The head of the Long Beach water agency uses one-sixth as much water for his family of five as David Nahai, the head of L.A.'s DWP, does for his family of five.
I'm dying out here trying to get a laugh.
So not only does Long Beach water chief Kevin Wattier conserve himself but he's got the whole town doing it. Water consumption in Long Beach in June was at a 10-year-low for that month. It was 5.7 percent lower than any in June in a decade, 10.5 percent below the 10-year average and for that last 12 months Long Beach is using 7 percent less water than the average of the last 10 years.
Now that's funny, you got to admit. Especially when you know L.A.'s water use is just about at the average of recent years -- 2.4 percent lower than last year but 20.5 percent higher than two years ago.
So next time you hear the mayor, your City Council member or David Nahai talk about how "green" they are, you can laugh in their face certain in the knowledge that they are hypocrites and deceivers.
It's Long Beach that's green and every water official knows why. Kevin Wattier didn't talk about conserving water, he did something about it -- last September -- when he figured out that California is facing a water crisis. Demand exceeds supply and it's not a temporary problem.
"We're really in trouble," Wattier told me. "We need to make permanent lifestyle changes. Everybody in Southern California needs to permanently reduce their water use. We're at the tipping point and we need to face reality."
Wattier is no hypocrite. He's been in his job seven years and has
changed his lifestyle. Red-faced when caught flagrantly wasting water,
Nahai -- a lawyer, not a water man -- brought a team of DWP experts to
his house to show him how to conserve; Wattier watched a Metropolitan
Water District video for tips.
Now his kids, ages 9, 11 and 14, no longer take 20-minute showers. Ten minutes is all they get and it's timed and they're soon going to only get five minutes.
He did a lawn makeover. No more grass, except for a few patches of artificial turf. His front and back yards are filled with drought tolerant, California friendly plants and he doesn't use automatic sprinklers. Once a week, he waters with a hose so his overall water use is virtually the same year-round. He's got low-consumption appliances and toilets
And most of all, he's got the people of Long Beach conserving too -- and he didn't tell them he was going to pump toilet water that's been treated over and over with toxic chemicals into their homes to get them to join the party.
Unlike the DWP, ports and other L.A. agencies that pay millions to private firms, Wattier told his government and public affairs director Ryan Alsop, to do his job and come up with a plan to get people to use less water.
Modeled on the no smoking campaigns, Alsop kept it simple: "Stop Wasting Water."
They used direct mail, billboards, and bus stop signs with the slogan and kept a steady stream of advice flowing to the public. And they put in tough regulations like you can only water your lawn three times a week and you got to have a shutoff valve on your garden hose so you can't just leave it running all the time you're washing your car.
"It's not OK to blow smoke in someone else's face and it's not OK to waste water. People are buying into a real ethic that's real clear: As a neighbor, as a city, we can't waste water," Wattier said.
He's looked at the water situation across the state and sees nothing but trouble. California's water system hasn't been improved in 40 years and was built for half as many people. Then, there's the court rulings that said we can't keep stealing the Colorado River water and we can't leave the Sacramento Delta smelt high and dry. The reservoirs in Northern California are dangerously low. It's goiig to get worse fast.
"This isn't a drought problem. It's a demand problem."
Long Beach gets half its water from MWD and half from ground water storage. He estimates the city needs to expect 20 percent less water from MWD so that means a 10 percent reduction in overall use. He's at 7 percent and is confident he'll reach the 10 percent mark this year.
As Wattier outlined what needs to be done statewide in terms of storage and recycling, I couldn't help but think how great it would be if someone like him was running the DWP, someone straightforward, honest, committed to making things better, strong enough to tell Brian D'Arcy, the DWP union boss who all but runs the utility, to take a jump in a reservoir.
I couldn't help but ask if anyone ever contacted him about running the DWP. You can guess the answer.
So I've got a suggestion for Nick Patsaouras, president of the DWP Board of Commissioners, "Hey Nick, spend some time with Kevin Wattier and give some thought to making a change at the DWP so we actually start solving our problems instead of blowing hot air and using it as a slush fund for politicians."
.
Now his kids, ages 9, 11 and 14, no longer take 20-minute showers. Ten minutes is all they get and it's timed and they're soon going to only get five minutes.
He did a lawn makeover. No more grass, except for a few patches of artificial turf. His front and back yards are filled with drought tolerant, California friendly plants and he doesn't use automatic sprinklers. Once a week, he waters with a hose so his overall water use is virtually the same year-round. He's got low-consumption appliances and toilets
And most of all, he's got the people of Long Beach conserving too -- and he didn't tell them he was going to pump toilet water that's been treated over and over with toxic chemicals into their homes to get them to join the party.
Unlike the DWP, ports and other L.A. agencies that pay millions to private firms, Wattier told his government and public affairs director Ryan Alsop, to do his job and come up with a plan to get people to use less water.
Modeled on the no smoking campaigns, Alsop kept it simple: "Stop Wasting Water."
They used direct mail, billboards, and bus stop signs with the slogan and kept a steady stream of advice flowing to the public. And they put in tough regulations like you can only water your lawn three times a week and you got to have a shutoff valve on your garden hose so you can't just leave it running all the time you're washing your car.
"It's not OK to blow smoke in someone else's face and it's not OK to waste water. People are buying into a real ethic that's real clear: As a neighbor, as a city, we can't waste water," Wattier said.
He's looked at the water situation across the state and sees nothing but trouble. California's water system hasn't been improved in 40 years and was built for half as many people. Then, there's the court rulings that said we can't keep stealing the Colorado River water and we can't leave the Sacramento Delta smelt high and dry. The reservoirs in Northern California are dangerously low. It's goiig to get worse fast.
"This isn't a drought problem. It's a demand problem."
Long Beach gets half its water from MWD and half from ground water storage. He estimates the city needs to expect 20 percent less water from MWD so that means a 10 percent reduction in overall use. He's at 7 percent and is confident he'll reach the 10 percent mark this year.
As Wattier outlined what needs to be done statewide in terms of storage and recycling, I couldn't help but think how great it would be if someone like him was running the DWP, someone straightforward, honest, committed to making things better, strong enough to tell Brian D'Arcy, the DWP union boss who all but runs the utility, to take a jump in a reservoir.
I couldn't help but ask if anyone ever contacted him about running the DWP. You can guess the answer.
So I've got a suggestion for Nick Patsaouras, president of the DWP Board of Commissioners, "Hey Nick, spend some time with Kevin Wattier and give some thought to making a change at the DWP so we actually start solving our problems instead of blowing hot air and using it as a slush fund for politicians."
.
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the Naitonal Enquirer.
Why are we asked to take hurried showers, give up our lawns, and drink toilet water? For the good of developers and illegal aliens, of course.
Villaraigosa and the City Council don't care about our quality of our life. They care about their real constituencies.
So they grant variances to increase housing density; they give our tax dollars to subsidize increased density; they make our city a "sanctuary" for illegal aliens, who cram several families into a single family dwelling; and, as documented here, they look the other way when people illegally convert houses into apartment complexes.
If you want a Mayor who will fight to improve our quality of life, rather than lower it to accommodate people who don't even live here, I'm your man.
Walter Moore
Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles
http://WalterMooreForMayor.com
Yes, the city officials are hypocrites!!! What about those electronic billboard advocates, such as ClearChannel Inc. promoters. DWP Chief Thief Nahal wants us to conserve a few watts of electricity, per household, with these new bulbs (they have way too much spare money on hand so they sent me some for free) while his boss Mayor Boss Tweed Villaraigosa orchestrates the sweetheart deals to flood the city with "light pollution" billboards.
And why doesn't the corrupt city officials promote "grey" water usage for household irrigation. The water used to wash dishes should be piped directly to the lawn for irrigation. Talk about water conservation. Figure the savings.
Mayor Vilar and the City Council should plan a junket to Long Beach. While they are at it, here are some other fact finding desintations.
FULLERTON CALIF. This winter, the City hired a private contractor to pave the intersection of Orangethorpe AV and Harbor Blvd. on a Saturday night. We can't get our streets paved at all.
VERNON CALIF. Find out how this small city avoids the illegal midnight dumping that is so prevanlent just across the street in South Los Angeles. Discover how this tiny all industrial town manages it's own water, power gas and fiber optic utilities to give business some of the most competitive rates in the Southland.
BURBANK CALIF. Burbank uses the bulk of it's reclaimed 'gray' water for it's power generating plant and for irrigating landscape.
GLENDALE CALIF Discover how this City's Department of Neighborhood Services maintains the City's quality of life.
EL MONTE CALIF No anti gang tax's here. The City's volunteer supported Boys and Girls Club's keep at risk youngsters busy and focused.
SANTA BARBARA CALIF after the last major drought, Santa Barbara constructed a 'desal' plant to supply it's residents with potable water. Not the best tasting waster but at least it isn't reclaimed POOPIE WATER.
PHOENIX ARIZONA got government services to compete with the private sector to get the best deal for the taxpayers in Phoenix.
How is it that smaller, less 'glamorous' cities are able to get the job done but the 2nd largest city in the U.S. by both land size and population can't get it's game on?
I'm almost too angry to comment. It's too bad that for so many years our officials have lied to us about so many things that when they say there's a water shortage, I don't really believe them, even if I suspect it's true.
And I'll be damned if I'm willing to give up any more than I've already given up, so that on the other end they can encourage more building, more population (mostly illegal) who won't conserve. Hell, they won't even be able to read the billboards or DWP literature in Spanish or English.
I've given up a front lawn for a concrete and tile patio; a back lawn for dirt and a dry riverbed; got rid of every water guzzling plant like hydrangeas for conservation plants; I take seven-minutes showers; do the every other flush thing; only run full loads of clothes and dishes; and never wash my car.
I installed two separate a/c units so only one has to run at a time, and right now as we speak, I'm waiting for the dryer to shut off so I can turn one of them on.
Today I contracted to put in a 12 x 12 patch of lawn in the back, so I'll have something cool to look at out my kitchen window instead of dirt.
If they don't like it, tuff! Besides, how can my dog do his daily barf if he doesn't have a few blades of grass to chew on? Grass helps keep it a smidgeon cooler. So do trees, and like people they both need water to survive.
Day before yesterday I got a Flex Alert from KABC-Radio. Talk about infuriating. What have we been paying for all these years if not to have enough power on the hottest day.
They insult us by saying if you must, I repeat MUST turn on your a/c...
It's the "must" that gets me. What the hell do they think? That two million people in the SFV turn on our air-conditioning for the fun of it? Because we love getting $900 and $1,000 bills in the summer?
Here's an idea, DWP. When it's 105 here in the Valley and only 80 in the city as it was that day, make them turn off all their air-conditioning, and give something back to us for a change.
Damn, I'm pissed.