Stiff fines should deter water waste

Editor:

We all know how fast Columbia County is growing, and I for one am not sure if the infrastructure is in place to support the growth. I feel we will soon be in the same shape as the area of South Augusta.

With the hot and dry days of summer rapidly approaching, we will soon be using millions of gallons of water to keep our lawn and flowers alive and healthy. With all the recent rain, sprinkler systems were running like crazy. This was water that was totally wasted and could have been preserved for later use. Just because its your day to water, try and apply some common sense to the situation. If there has been sufficient rain, turn the automatic system off and adjust it accordingly. It is not hard to do, and then we all may have the water we need.

It seems that many residents are unaware or simply do not care about the current water restrictions. A recent article stated that the county may ban the outdoor sprinkler systems altogether. This would be very unfair to the residents who abide by the watering rules.

A better solution would be to impose a stiff fine on those residents that simply are too lazy or ignorant to adjust the automatic timers on their systems. The restrictions have been in place for two years; therefore, no advance notice or warning should be given.

This fine should apply to newcomers to the county as well. A copy of the restrictions should be placed in every home that is for rent and/or sale, as well as requiring the real estate agent to cover them with the respective occupant. Once some non-abiders have been made examples of, maybe others will stop thinking only of themselves.

Jerry L. Campbell

Evans