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04 April 2009, 5:51 AM

Tom Turner

Watery Rant

The blaring headline to the San Francisco Chronicle April 3 was all about our continuing drought and upcoming water rationing. This is not exactly news -- we've been warned for months.

What I wrestle with is how to spread the hardship fairly. The remedy the utility company will impose is across-the-board reductions of 15 percent or more. No hosing down your driveway. No washing your car more than so often.

But what about us noble citizens who already conserve like crazy?

I've never hosed down my driveway. I never wash my car. I pump water out of the bathtub and use it to water the plants outside. My shower seldom lasts more than a minute. I don't know how I'll be able to conserve more. I've got low-flow showers, low-flow toilets, and so forth.

I'm not sure what a better solution would be, but this ain't it. Maybe a per-day limit for each person in a household based on the number of people divided by the amount of water available. Something like that. As it is, people who have been profligate with their water use in the past are being rewarded. T'aint fair.