The vast majority of people who responded to the Jan. 28, 2010 Argus-Courier online poll are passionate about conserving water, even though reservoirs are full after a series of heavy rainstorms last month.
Readers were asked if they plan to conserve as much water as last year in light of recent storms that have brought reservoirs to normal. Some 81 percent said “yes,” and 15.5 percent said “no.”
Here are some of the comments by those who participated in the survey:
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“With as many people as are on the planet now, it’s foolish to live as though there is a never-ending supply of resources. It is always wise to live mindfully.”
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“Yes. We conserve water as much as we can, and it doesn’t matter that we have had a lot of rain in the last month. It is important to practice water conservation all of the time.”
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“Conservation needs to be a way of life if we are to survive. Use what you need — not as much as you can.”
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“Conserve water and your rates go up. Don’t conserve water and your rates go up. So where’s the incentive?”
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“I’ve been conserving water since the drought of 1976-77 and I know that I’m not alone. There is so much development in Sonoma County, we need above-average rainfall just to break even. And what about the silt building up in Lake Sonoma?”
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“I’ve reduced my use by over 75 percent by doing things like shorter showers, removing almost of my huge lawns. But I still pay the same water and sewer bill. There isn’t too much more I can do to reduce water use. Moving to Nevada is next, I guess.”
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“I already conserve water. Graywater systems! Water catchment! Tertiary water required for all new development and all retail centers.”
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“I don’t see where rates will drop, right? Conservation is a long-term goal, so no changes unless it’s to further reduce usage.”
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“I always strive to conserve water, drought or not. It’s part of being a Californian.”
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“I have been collecting rainwater to use in my vegetable garden. I will continue to collect this water, as it is just runoff that goes into our gutters.”
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“I have conserved water for many years. Short showers, low irrigation, check for leaks in pipes etc. I don’t know how much more I could conserve.”
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“I have low-flow everything in my house, and we monitor our flushes. I have no lawn and have drought-resistant plants. Four people live in the household with one toddler. My water bill is about $125 a month. It has jumped and is too high.”
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“In fact, we expect to conserve more as we have converted the last remaining lawn area to low-water landscaping.”
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“I was planning to (conserve water) anyway. We recently installed a 3,400-gallon rainwater harvesting system to use for irrigation. It was full after the second day of rain!”
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“I try to conserve every year, but I want to have a nice yard. I replaced my large rear lawn with artificial turf, save shower warm-up water and take short showers. Some of my neighbors have used this as an excuse to let their yards go to weed and this is a major threat to quality of the neighborhood.”
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“I just purchased an over-the-toilet tank hand-washing faucet. I wash with clean water, which goes into the toilet tank as graywater. This will save on all the hand-washing water we use. We collect all our shower water in buckets and water our garden with it.”
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“Of course! Conserving water should be an ongoing goal whether or not the reservoirs are full.”
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“Water and sewer costs are so high, senior citizens have no alternative but to conserve to the extreme.”
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“We’re using harvested rainwater for irrigation starting this year, and finding other ways to conserve water.”
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“Why not conserve water under any conditions? Would it be OK to litter if we get a more efficient garbage disposal company?”
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“Why should I save water so that more people can move in and use it up? What help does that give to salmon and boaters in the Russian and Eel rivers? Just wait until they start giving out more building permits in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Petaluma, and all that ‘extra’ water will be sucked dry. Oh yeah, your question assumes that it will continue to rain through March. Good luck, y’all.”
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“Conserving water should be a way of life. You never know what the following years will bring (or not bring).”
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“Conservation is important. However, the programs designed to encourage or penalize the public to save water are duplicitous. Inevitably, all of the water saved goes to new water consumers who don’t live here yet. Water saved through water-saving policies is simply given to developers who are allowed to increase water consumption. Petaluma has no emergency reserves, as even groundwater is being earmarked for future development. Also, remember this, our water supply may be helped a little by rain, but we have a very long way to go to normalcy. Why? Because trying to top off depleted water supplies from massive storm events is like trying to fill a shot glass with a fire hose. Actually refilling our water supplies requires groundwater to go up, which is now virtually impossible after groundwater recharge land and flood plains have been paved over.”

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“Drought is not the only issue.”
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“I’m hoping to replace part of my front lawn with something that is not so bad for the environment.”
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“I plan to conserve water like last year because I always conserve water without being forced to. I, unlike others, do not waste water or anything else. If everyone were this way and not so wasteful we would be in a much better position. People need to get their sh– together and think. Everyone wants easy and throw-away. Diapers being the worst. Everyone lives in a “me” society — I want, I need, I waste, because I can.”
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“I truly hope folks always try to conserve, regardless of the storage volumes.”
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“Save extra water from bottles or cooking vegetables and water your plants.”
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“The water is still expensive, so we’ll conserve to keep our bill lower.”
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“Using less water will mean higher water bills. People seem to forget that we are still paying for construction of Lake Sonoma just so we won’t have these water problems. Political correctness is driving this poll again.”
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“We will continue to conserve water.”