Water waster website helps people snitch from their smartphones
The state of California has unveiled a new website you can use to report water being wasted anywhere, anytime, with your smartphone.
The Save Water Report site allows users to anonymously report water being wasted anywhere in the state. You can attach photos and put the exact time you witnessed the water being wasted.
“I think that they shouldn’t waste water or else we won’t have any water to drink,” said 7-year-old Kimora Hall who was out shopping with her family in Palm Desert.
Most kids get taught not to be tattletales, but when it comes to wasting water during the drought, there are dozens of different ways to snitch on those wasting precious gallons. Although some adults might not be on board.
“I think that sometimes we overreact, I know there’s a water shortage, I know there’s a drought, but I still see a lot of fountains, and I know it’s recycled, but it evaporates,” said Phyllis Sansone of Rancho Mirage.
“If there is a leaky pipe that’s one thing, but I don’t think it’s a good thing. I don’t like people reporting on each other for anything,” said Ono Bono of Borrego Springs.
“Just like anything else, Big Brother is watching you no matter what you want to do, so you can report on anybody. I don’t know if I would do it unless it’s really bad,” said Virginia Neal of Yucca Valley.
The Desert Water Agency is a little ahead of the curve. It already developed a mobile app you could use to report any water being wasted.
Ever since the start of the drought, the Coachella Valley Water District has received a steady stream of water waster reports.
“The number of reports that we receive varies from month to month, it tends to go up and down, but we have been averaging 100 to 200 per month. We received 800 in the last fiscal year,” said Heather Engel, the director of Communication with CVWD.
Engel sees this new website as another tool people can use to help fix issues that water wasters might not even know are happening in their yards.
“Most of the complaints that we receive are for people who are unaware that they are wasting water. For instance, if my sprinklers run late at night and one of them is broken, I might not know about it, but someone who jogs late at night might see it and call the water district,” said Engel.
What would you do if you saw someone had a broken sprinkler and they were wasting water? Would you knock on the door and tell them in person or would you make an anonymous report? Let us know in the comments below or you can tell Joe Galli on Facebook or Twitter.
