Navy Makes Every Drop Count

Hoping to be one step ahead of the civilian community, Navy officials have devised a water-saving scheme that will allow sailors to cut back water use as the city faces a drought that has parched reservoirs.

The Navy’s conservation plan, aimed at the 4 billion gallons of water the Navy uses locally each year, goes into effect Monday, the same day the San Diego City Council will grapple over whether to adopt mandatory water conservation rules.

“The need to conserve is real, and the time is now,” said Rear Adm. John W. Adams, Commander Naval Base, in a memo addressed to all local commanding officers. “The Navy will not only conform to the conditions imposed in the civilian neighborhood but set the example, utilizing the techniques we’ve learned from years at sea.”

The Navy will begin watering lawns and landscaped areas using an odd/even schedule based on the last number of addresses, prohibit washing down pavement and stop serving water--unless requested--in mess halls and officers clubs.

Government vehicles will only be washed when necessary, and small boats will only be washed by hand with a sponge and bucket, according to the memo. Outdoor pools will be covered when not in use, and hot lines have been set up to report leaks and violations.

But top officers say that, because the Navy has already established many water conserving efforts, such as installing water-saving devices in showers and toilets, this new round of tap-tighteners will not produce startling results.

“You are not going to see a dramatic decrease in water consumption,” said Capt. Tim Kelley, commanding officer of the Navy Public Works Center, the maintenance facility that tends local bases and ships. “We were already doing a lot of those things. I don’t think individual homeowners worry about water but in the Navy, we have been worrying about it.”

Many officers agree. They say water conservation has become so routine for sailors that the Navy’s use is already low.

In a “Navy shower,” for instance, a sailor turns the water on, turns it off, soaps up, then rinses. Aboard some vessels, sailors are even timed in the shower to ensure that they don’t use more than their allotment of water. Sailors refer to non-Navy showers as “Hollywood” and often razz colleagues who take longer than necessary.

“It’s so ingrained that, when I got out of boot camp, I still took ‘Navy showers’ at home,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Smallwood, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet’s Commander Naval Surface Force, which has 174 ships.

On Monday, Adams plans to present the Navy’s water-saving scheme to the San Diego City Council. Mayor Maureen O’Connor has said she prefers a voluntary, rather than mandatory, water program. But Navy officials have said they are prepared to quickly go ahead with either program.