Water Worries

Wake up, Los Angeles--the desert surrounds us. In spite of the fact that it hasn’t rained for four months and might not rain for another three, life goes on here as if we lived in Florida or Hawaii.

A hundred-thousand cubic yards of mud clog the Los Angeles Aqueduct (during the recent storm), and does anyone really notice? The front page shows us nice color pictures, and local television news mentions it for 30 seconds, but there is no sense of concern or urgency. The message obviously isn’t reaching the man in the street, because he is too busy pouring water in the gutter. This morning, between dropping off my wife downtown and driving to my job a few miles west, I saw no less than six people hosing down sidewalks and buildings. Third Street between Spring and Hill seems to be a particularly popular area to stand with a hose and let the city’s lifeblood run out.

Why doesn’t anyone seem to care? Perhaps those in charge of our water can tell us. The DWP and The Metropolitan Water District are adept at sending out mixed signals. Sure, they tell us to take shorter showers and to sweep our sidewalks and driveways with brooms. But at the same time, we are assured that there is no crisis, the reservoirs are full enough, and we can always purchase water from elsewhere for a while. Don’t worry, be happy. No wonder the general public ignores their half-hearted requests for conservation.

A future water crisis could make us long for the good old days when smog was the biggest environmental problem. Elected and appointed officials should not sugar-coat our potential water problems, and we all should remember that this is a man-made oasis that must be handled with care.

JOHN M. LORENZ

Glendale