MULLIGAN: Water conservation effort still relevant

Water waste unacceptable after drought

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(SINO OULAD DAOUD/EYE OF THE TIGER)

JOHNNY MULLIGAN

After the horrific drought that Roseville faced last year, you would think that, even after all the rain we got this winter, people would realize the importance of water conservation. Sadly, it doesn’t look like it.

Whenever I see water pooled in someone’s gutter, I get really sad. Right now it is just beginning to heat up. Do you remember last summer? You couldn’t even go to Folsom Lake just up the road to get some relief from the heat because there were only about eight drops of water left in it.

Every summer feels like it is getting hotter and I have no doubt this year will be the same. Just last week it had already hit 90 degrees and it is only May. All I’m saying is thank God I don’t have football this year because nobody knows just how hot June and July are going to be.

The need to preserve water is evident and ever growing, as it seems like every summer is hotter than the last.

Lucky enough, we had the largest rain season this year, as everyone here at RHS can attest, when there was not a single spot on campus you could go and not get wet

Now I can go back to taking 45 minute showers, and letting my plants know I love them by giving them extra water.

Wrong. First off if you have water pooled in the gutter, you are actually overwatering the plants and hurting them. There is nothing wrong with running the sprinklers but remember to stop it before it gets out of hand. Also, those showers can waste up to 180 gallons of water.

Yes we have more water, but that doesn’t make it right to waste. Just like if someone had a lot of money, they wouldn’t just waste it all at once. A surplus of something is best utilized if saved over time.

If five years ago we had not wasted so much water California would not have been in the predicament it was in.

There still would’ve been a long time without rain but I wouldn’t have felt bad every time I filled a cup of water up.

We can cut out the extreme measures people could have taken – not watering lawns at all, collecting rainwater, taking two-minute showers– but as of now, we Rosevillians should be eager to save as much water as possible, especially with this blistering summer approaching.

The district implemented drought measures in order to help save water, which I applaud. The best part is that nobody actually noticed, Senior Square looked as green and lush as ever. So there really is no reason to return to the watering schedule. It would just use more water that isn’t even needed.

I just recently adopted a fish and a bonsai tree, both of which, shockingly, rely on water to survive. I plan on having both of them for many years to come so please don’t make Drake and Rafiki become water starved and pass away.