New MMWD drought surcharge plan won't work

The new drought policies adopted by the water district won't work (“Marin Municipal Water District details drought surcharge proposal,” Feb. 24).

Marin's policies were successful 45 years ago because the public saw vivid pictures of parched reservoirs and the prospect of little, if any, water if the drought continued. The public's fear was, in large measure, what prompted the building of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge pipeline to the East

Bay Municipal Utility District.

Back then, MMWD's success was, in part, due to one-time, severe measures which the public understood, believed and to which it responded. Credibility is the key. The district's requests were consistent, urgent, understandable and verifiable.

The current intent of finetuning conservation policies to every 10% change in supply results in “going to the well” too often. There is such a thing as conservation fatigue. Compliance becomes inconsistent and unfair. For example, those with large landscaped yards have the money to pay the fines while earning the resentment of their neighbors, who continue to comply as occurred in the 1970s.

In the recently published article, the impact of the drought in the '70s on future water management was discussed. It is worth reading and reflecting on how little has changed. MMWD has a limited number of bullets in their conservation tool kit. Don't waste them by fine tuning policies which look great from the professional manager's perspective, but frustrating and impractical when seen from the customer's perspective. Let's learn from our past.