Letters: Putting water use to the test
Re “Time to make a turf decision,” Column, Feb. 14
In 1988, my students at Suzanne Middle School in Walnut wrote and lobbied the state to pass a bill requiring all state-funded building to use drought-tolerant landscaping. The Times supported their work in an editorial, and the resolution — which, as SCR 68, was carried by then-state Sen. William Campbell — was supported by letters from nearly every water agency in California.
In subsequent years my students delivered toilet tank displacement kits to Walnut homes, testified before the United Nations on the importance of water conservation and worked with the Walnut Valley Water District to start a drought-tolerant demonstration garden.
Steve Lopez and my students have something in common: common sense. The need for a paradigm shift in landscaping and water use is not just an idea but a necessity.
And if the state puts its back behind SCR 68, I won’t mind giving my students late-work credit.
Alan Haskvitz
Alta Loma
My husband and I have been Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers, in the same house, for 42 years. I took out the last of our grass in 2003.
Will the DWP pay for the lawn that I took out because I had the foresight to do so? I doubt it.
To make matters worse, after we have cut back on our water use, Gov. Jerry Brown has asked us to further reduce our usage by 20%.
Robin Gilbert
North Hills
There it is again: an appeal for all to conserve water. Dig out your lawn; use less water. Everyone is being asked to conserve. Almost everyone.
There is a new sign on the 15 Freeway between San Diego and Temecula advertising the development of several new communities. The developers don’t seem to be so involved in water conservation. And golf courses appear lush and green.
If we are truly all in this together, then everyone should practice water conservation equally.
Barbara Schiffler
Encinitas
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