Detectors Find ‘Major Leak’ at Wilson’s House

Sonar devices picking up gurgling sounds have suggested the answer to why Gov. Pete Wilson’s residence uses nearly three times as much water as his neighbors: a ruptured swimming pool valve.

State Department of Water Resources officials said the “major leak” was discovered by a special detection team that was dispatched to examine the plumbing at the governor’s house. The review came after it was disclosed Tuesday that Wilson’s home and grounds had used exorbitant amounts of water during January and February.

Figures released by the Arcade Water District, which serves the governor’s home in suburban Sacramento, showed the dwelling had consumed nearly 1,170 gallons of water a day at a time when the state’s chief executive was asking his constituents to “sacrifice” and conserve during a severe drought. The governor’s consumption far exceeded the average home usage for the state, for Sacramento and for his neighbors.

On Wednesday, the politically embarrassing disclosure was prominently featured in numerous newspapers and news broadcasts and became the butt of wry jokes.

The governor’s staff rushed to put the political faux pas in the best light. They insisted the governor himself had paid rigorous attention to conservation by turning the faucets off during shaving and showering.

“The governor was obviously very upset when he learned about the excessive use and didn’t know why that was occurring because he had personally taken many steps to conserve water,” said Wilson’s press secretary, Bill Livingstone.

While the detection team did not publicly divulge the source of the leak, the governor’s office was only too anxious to finger the culprits.

Livingstone said about 200 gallons of water a day was spewing out of a cracked valve that regulates swimming pool water. He said the leak was hidden from view by the mechanism’s wood housing.

In addition, he said the inspectors discovered that the sprinkling system had been set up by the Department of General Services so that “there wasn’t one square inch that wasn’t watered.” The department tends the grounds.

“It was an overambitious sprinkling system,” Livingstone said.

As a result of the audit, he said, the swimming pool valve will be fixed, the sprinkling system overhauled and conservation devices such as low-flush toilets installed in the governor’s home.

Despite the unfavorable light it put on Wilson, Livingstone maintained the governor was grateful for the news coverage of his water use.

“You could say the press uncovered a leak,” he deadpanned.