California City Sends Its Water Wasters Back to School as Drought Deepens

Some had turned a blind eye to gushy sprinklers. Others had ignored leaking toilets. One blamed an overzealous cleaning lady. Another blamed thieving neighbours.
Whatever the cause, all were officially branded water wasters, villains in California’s drought, and now they were herded together, paying penance at water school.
The 19 people gathered at the community centre in Santa Cruz, a parched beachside city south of San Francisco, faced a crash course in rainfall statistics, reservoir levels, pump technology, meter reading, mandatory restrictions and conservation tips. At the end awaited a written test – and then freedom to leave, their fines forgiven.
“This is a major, major event,” said Toby Goddard, the city’s water conservation manager, pointing to a colour-coded drought map which showed Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico yellow and orange and much of California an angry blood-red. “We’ve all got to do our part.”
The class this week was part of a pioneering effort to curb waste modelled on traffic school where offending motorists learn about road safety in return for reduced fines.