Great news - Californians have managed to reduce water usage by 31% in July, [2]surpassing the mandated 25% reduction amid the worst drought in centuries. However, this dramatic reduction is in now way thanks to local government in Los Angeles, where, as Daily News reports, the majority of LA County supervisors have their take-home cars washed two or three times a week, service records show, and actually washed them more frequently than before Governor Brown's orders.
California decreased its total water use by 31.3 percent in July, surpassing a goal set by Gov. Jerry Brown four months ago to cut urban water use by 25 percent, according to figures released Thursday, but, as Daily News report, [3] no thanks whatsoever to LA County Board of Supervisors...
Despite living in one of the most car-centric and image-conscious cities in the world, many Los Angeles drivers have cut their carwashes during the crippling drought.
Not so for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The majority of the supervisors wash their take-home cars two or three times a week, service records show, and actually washed them more frequently after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a 25 percent cut in urban water use. As the county’s washes continue to consume tap water, some other local governments have pledged to skip washes for months or are using recirculated water.
“When government takes the initiative, it really says something about their leadership,” said Rachel Stich, spokeswoman for Los Angeles Waterkeeper, an environmental group that started a pledge drive for dirty cars. “If they’re going to be asking their residents to conserve water, everybody needs to be stepping up.”
Meanwhile, city officials in Long Beach, Santa Monica, Burbank, Malibu and San Gabriel have all pledged to stop washing their cars for two months, as part of the L.A. Waterkeeper drive.
And in the final irony,
County officials are studying how to save water at their carwashes, a representative said.
Top county officials get their cars washed in the basement of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration downtown, at one of three carwashes run by the county government. They can receive a car allowance, or have the government purchase them a vehicle, which is then washed, maintained and fueled by taxpayers.
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Once again - do as I say, not as I do!
