Groundbreaking News: We Need to Conserve Water

Big water news for California (I know, we’re a national magazine in Canada, but I’m covering this!). The Governator has declared that water is similar to energy in that we need to conserve it. It sounds simple, and yet we fail (as Canadians, too) at it again and again.

The new water bill in California is about much more than conservation, there’s a funding mechanism being put in place to renew infrastructure like dams and subsurface assets.

Meanwhile, back in Canada, Winnipeggers are being told to get ready for a rate hike. No doubt, this will make them cranky. Almost as cranky as the residents of my neighbourhood where major work is being done to replace aging pipes, disrupting traffic and waking up sleeping babies in the early morning. To both groups, I say: get over it and be greatful you don’t live in California, where water is much scarcer. Our water rates are artifically low right now, yet we’ve still got ditch diggers and crane operators working to replace the infrastructure that delivers it to our homes. Once rates go up in Canada, the conservation California is after will hopefully follow naturally.