As a follow up to this post, voluntary measures to conserve water in Raleigh aren't working and mandatory restrictions (command and control) are rejected (Raleigh rejects ...):
The state's second-largest city rejected mandatory water restrictions Tuesday, despite evidence that merely asking for reductions during the ongoing drought hasn't worked.
Raleigh leaders were considering whether to start fining consumers for watering lawns during peak hours, but City Manager Russell Allen advised the city council Tuesday that rain expected this week could help ease pressure on the dwindling water supply.
Those who broke the rules would have faced fines ranging from $50 for a first offense to $500 for a second.
And every now and then someone gets it right ...
"Nobody plans for this until there is a problem," said Charles Bell, president of American Pride car washes and a member of the city's water conservation task force. "Water is cheap. Maybe if water went up like the price of gasoline, people would conserve."
By the way, there are lots of good comments at the original post.
The N&O article came out the next day. Here is a good tip on conserving water:
Water the grass only between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. That way, it won't evaporate. Don't use more than 1 inch of water per week on your lawn.
Sounds innocuous. But there are always equity implications:
"The people with more money get to have the biggest share of the pie. It benefits those who can afford an automatic irrigation system and don't have to water by hand at midnight. My grass looks pretty bad. In my neighborhood, I look pretty bad with brown grass."
