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The moment the new water laws hit Monday, it's like the LA Department of Water & Power went bonkers with water conservation ideas. Today is a new door hanger program, in which the the hangers were given to the public via their print newspaper subscriptions. "LADWP door hangers are designed to help customers encourage their neighbors not to waste water and to avoid fines associated with violations of the City’s Water Conservation Ordinance," they explain. "On one side of the door hanger is a list of four common wasteful water practices, with a checkbox for each prohibited use. Neighbors, when they spot water being wasted on a neighbor’s property, can select the box or boxes that apply and leave the hanger anonymously on the neighbor’s door." Those four common wasteful practices are: excess water flowing over pavement and into gutters during irrigation or car washing, sprinklers are on more than twice a week, sprinklers are on during the day, broken or leaky sprinkler. You can also obtain them at any of the 14 LADWP Customer Service Centers.
LADWP Wants You to Keep an Eye on Your Neighbors
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It's pretty scary that the DWP is asking you to spy on your neighbors.
What are they going to ask us to report next?
I will be tossing my "door hanger" right out the door when it arrives!
We need a door hanger to put on the doors of City Hall with a box checked WTF!
I wonder who will show up at your neighbors house once you have checked them off as a WATER CRIMINAL!
Do they really think the people of LA are going to use those door hangers? Anyone here willing to admit that they would use it?
The best use of the door hangers is to show how the DWP is a master of wasting money.
What will the DWP say/do when a neighbor gets shot trying to save water by marking their neighbor as a water waster?
I can just imagine a little old lady walking up to some gangsters house with her door hanger checked off VIOLATOR!
I think this needs to go on that passive-aggressive notes website.
I will call in businesses, though. I've seen several, including just on Sunday, watering their sidewalks.
I don't think it's a horrible idea in this economy. The whole neighbor tattling on neighbor thing helped Long Beach educate those who allegedly waste water--that's how they are years ahead of LA in all of this. Those who were tattled on were not given a citation, but education one on one. And it seems to have helped, they are not scurrying like we are this week.
What we do need is something like this to tattle on restaurants who give us tap water we don't drink. By law, they can't give us tap water unless we ask for it, but day after day, I'm given tap water without asking. It's not the end of the world, but for every glass of water, it takes much more water to clean that glass.
The only time most people here care about their neighbor's habits is when they complain about weird smells followed by the inevitable "he was such a nice man" curbside interview as the bodies are being dragged out.
I'll tattle right now on North Hollywood. On my way to work I've seen sprinklers on along the Orange Line foliage during the "no watering" hours. Tsk tsk! Is there a door we can hang that hanger thing on for the city?
delara: The name of this game is called, "Do as I say, not as I do"
Oh, we love this. Call me a bitch, that's OK. Don't waste water. We have a neighbor who runs his sprinklers every day for ages. The water constantly runs down our gutter. He's getting a tag.
Who is watching the DWP?
Press Reports and Audits on Govermental Waste, Fraud and Mismanagement:
http://www.caltax.org/waste/Waste_Fraud_Categories/Public%20Utilities.pdf
"Oh, we love this. Call me a bitch, that's OK."
It's so strange to me that people are so casual about being asked to spy on their neighbors by a government agency.
If they consider this project a success what's next?
L.A. DWP Buys Extras. An independent study of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's budget shows more than $16 million was spent on "non-core" activities in fiscal 2005-06, including more than $1 million for parenting and breast-feeding classes, a fitness center and a choir for employees. (Caltaxletter: April 7, 2006, from Los Angeles Daily News, April 3, 2006.)
Court rules LA DWP ignored law and must pay LA schools and other agencies $223 million
June 12, 2007 -- The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) intentionally overcharged Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles Community College District and state agencies for electricity for nearly 20 years and must pay them $223.8 million, a state superior court judge has ruled.
After a six-week trial, Superior Court Judge John P. Wade ruled that the DWP “intentionally ignored the plain language” of the law regarding the rates it could charge Los Angeles County, the school district and the other plaintiffs in the case. He also criticized the DWP’s “lack of a sense of responsibility to good government.”
Tom,
I appreciate you bringing the DWP issues to my attention. However, that doesn't change the fact that saving water starts at home and to me that means my neighbors and community as well. I don't think it's spying and while I might have been a bit flippant, I am certainly not taking this casually. I'm not peeking in their backyards or into the windows of their homes. I'm simply pointing out that they're blatantly wasting precious water which is clearly visible to everyone on our street. In addition, it's voluntary. I'm not being forced to do this; I was just given a vehicle to do what I've wanted to do for a long time.
and my husband just pointed out something I neglected to say which is....the sprinklers run during the day. These people might not have any idea that they're overwatering. Bringing this to their attention can also be regarding as being a good neighbor. Obviously I'm the bitchy one:).
Robyn,
I agree we all need to save water.
You are not bitchy at all, you are just looking out for our planet and I appreciate that.
My issue is reporting people to a company that has a reputation like the DWP.
"Superior Court Judge John P. Wade ruled that the DWP “intentionally ignored the plain language” of the law regarding the rates it could charge Los Angeles County, the school district and the other plaintiffs in the case. He also criticized the DWP’s “lack of a sense of responsibility to good government.”