Fred Warchol: Atwater goes overboard chasing water scofflaws
California’s water crisis is for real. Farmers and ranchers know it because their livelihood is on the line. We city folk know it because everything, from showers to washing machines, suck up lots of water. But the undisputed biggest users of water are our green lawns.
The city of Atwater is making an effort to conserve water, especially after failing to achieve the reduction mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board. Now The city has to take corrective measures. Last month, the city manager brought onboard a police volunteer to enforce water conservation and that’s when things got froggy.
The volunteer promptly informed an astonished city council (July 27) that he is now a sworn police officer. That brought a grin to the face of the city manager. The volunteer began by sneaking up to homes in the dark, at 5 a.m., and issuing anonymous citations. You can only imagine the reaction of homeowners.
Using strong measures to conserve water is admirable, using Gestapo tactics not so much.
Atwater officials need to rein in their rogue water enforcer and please, please don’t issue him a gun!
Fred Warchol, Atwater
This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Fred Warchol: Atwater goes overboard chasing water scofflaws."