Developers take action in light of the drought

The Coachella Valley is an oasis in the desert, whether it’s when you step off the plane in Palm Springs, or enter your community, water greets you in this hot desert climate.

However the State of California is in a drought, which begs the question, should these prominent water features be turned off?

“This is good to keep on because I don’t have money to afford a pool. I think it’s fun for the kids too,” said local resident Fabian Le Jerazu.

“Some of the big resorts that have these humongous waterfalls and stuff is that water recycled? If it’s recycled maybe, but if it’s not shut them down,” said local resident Mark White.

California’s Water Resources Control Board agrees, setting regulations that state: If it’s not recirculating water, it needs to be turned off.

“This is a drought we don’t have the kind of water to waste on evaporation decorative fountains, we as the state of California can not afford to waste water,” said Desert Water Agency board president Craig Ewing.

Some businesses are taking it a step further by turning off their fountains even though it does recirculate.

“We’ve kept the fountains on for 12 hours a day here, we don’t need to do that, we are going to cut it back to two hours a day,” said commercial real estate broker Margie Taft.

Taft says the owners of the Pickford Promenade are also putting in more desertscape to save water.

“The drought situation is affecting all of us and we need water it is so critical to our survival here in the desert. If we all voluntarily help it will be a better situation, a better lifestyle for all of us,” said Taft.

While these six fountains won’t solve the state’s drought problems, Taft hopes it will inspire more people to save water.

“It is symbolic gesture,” said Taft. “I think we all need to get on board with it, we don’t need to be regulated, we don’t need to be forced. I think that we all should be responsible for our environment where we live.”

As for Children’s water features like the ones in Cathedral City and La Quinta, they do recirculate water. Both cities tell us there are no plans to turn them off.

For a complete list of the new water restrictions that begin on August 1, click here.