Priya Ramani on why it’s a good time to get more water literate
Ever noticed how every time you glance away at a restaurant in India, the server tops your glass of water? In drought-affected California, they now fine you for this sort of behaviour. At The Plant, a chain of organic cafés in San Francisco (where I happen to be holidaying at present), a sign informs you that you will only be served water at your table if you ask for it. On 17 March, the State Water Resources Control Board issued emergency conservation regulations as California reeled under its fourth dry year.
“Conservation is the easiest, most efficient, and most cost effective way to quickly reduce water demand,” the state water board said. So hotels must offer guests the option to not have their linen and towels changed daily. Restaurants are prohibited from serving water to customers (or refilling their glasses) unless the customer requests it. According to a back of the envelope calculation by Peter Gleick, co-founder of the independent think tank Pacific Institute, this latter move could help save 20 billion gallons of water a year. “To use the silly but ubiquitous standard measure: this amount of water would fill 31,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools,” Gleick writes in a blog. Count the water you save if you turn off the tap while soaping your hands, shampooing your hair, or brushing your teeth, and the numbers add up.
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