A’s Beane near top of list of East Bay’s biggest water hogs
Oakland A’s big cheese Billy Beane, famous for his statistical money-saving approach to assembling a baseball team, has been far less economical with his water, according to an East Bay Municipal Utility District roster that places him among the top water hogs in the East Bay.
The baseball team’s executive vice president, for whom the phrase “Moneyball” was invented, has been slopping nearly 6,000 gallons of water a day on the grounds of his Danville estate and his swimming pool, placing him third on a preliminary list of excessive water users released Friday. The average residential customer uses about 250
gallons a day per household.
The list of 1,108 names is not complete, according to Abby Figueroa, district spokeswoman, including only about a third of the district’s residential customers — essentially those who received penalties for guzzling more than 1,000 gallons of water per day. Still, it is an indication of the huge disparity in water use among the 1.3 million customers in 35 East Bay cities that receive water from the district.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District as a whole has cut water use by 21 percent since Jan. 1.
Beane issued a statement Friday saying that it wasn’t really his fault.
“Multiple irrigation leaks and a significant pool leak were recently discovered and are in the process of being corrected,” said the man who was using 5,996 gallons a day at home while his baseball team wallowed in last place. “We are more than displeased and embarrassed by the usage and are taking immediate action.”
Top of the list
The top two water users on the list were former Chevron Vice Chairman George Kirkland of Danville, who has been guzzling 12,578 gallons a day, followed by venture capitalist Mark Pine of Alamo, who has been sucking up 8,090 gallons a day.
Several addresses in Danville owned by Dennis Baca, a prominent real estate developer, appeared on the list. A receptionist at Baca Properties said, “I know that there have been several leaks,” and promised to forward a message to Baca, who did not return the phone call.
The city of Danville appeared to be the thirstiest city in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Eighteen individuals there used 200 or more units of water during the last 60-day billing cycle — covering mostly July and August — including Kirkland, Baca and Beane. One unit of water is 748 gallons. They were among 53 people who consumed at least 2,493 gallons a day over the two months.
Slurp central appeared to be a place in Danville called Saddleback at Blackhawk, an unnaturally lush, gated community full of sprawling multimillion-dollar mansions. The enormous green lawns, tropical plants and exotic trees surrounding the homes are in stark contrast to the adjacent hills, which are dry, brown and weedy.
Carolyn Lynn, who lives on a 1½-acre spread, said she could not figure out why she was among the 50 top water users on the list.
“We’re not showering. We’re not dishwashering any more than usual. My plants are dying,” Lynn said over her house intercom, promising to call in her landscaper for answers. “My manzanita and two Japanese maples are dying.”
Billy Beane’s mansion
Two mansions over, six palm trees surround Billy Beane’s beige-colored Spanish-style mansion at the end of a 100-yard hillside driveway. The wide, green lawns and intricately landscaped gardens full of tropical greenery and ornamental plants clearly aren’t starving for sustenance. Water was, in fact, still trickling out of the sprinkler and flowing down gutters in front of the property Friday afternoon.
The long driveway leading to Kirkland’s spread, a few gates over, goes through a forest of evergreen and aspen trees. Squirrels frolic amid the wellwatered tropical plants and pink and white flowers.
Jeff and Jane Behring tried to do the right thing, allowing the lawns and landscaping in back to go dry during the drought, but Jeff ’s 50 bonsai trees apparently got them on the list.
“He keeps telling me he does plan to get rid of some of them,” said Jane, describing how the trees are her husband’s passion, “but he hasn't done it yet.”
Jeff ’s father, developer Kenneth Behring, the former coowner of the Seattle Seahawks football team, was a fixture on EBMUD lists of top water guzzlers in 1991 and 1992, during the area’s last big drought.
Orinda had eight residents who used at least 200 units of water — 2,493 gallons a day — during the 60-day billing cycle, the second most in the district. Piedmont had five and San Leandro, Walnut Creek and Lafayette had four residents each who gulped up that much water.
Figueroa said the names on the list are all residential customers who were in violation of the district’s Excessive Use Penalty Ordinance, which charges extra for those who consume more than 80 units, or 59,840 gallons, in a single billing cycle.
There are 327,000 singlefamily residences in the district. Most of those who made the list used their water outdoors for lawns, landscaping, swimming pools and hot tubs, Figueroa said. She acknowledged that undetected leaks are a common issue with the district’s biggest water hogs.
Getting tough
What does the district plan to do about it?
“If needed, the penalty can be a lot tougher,” Figueroa said. “Ultimately, flow restrictions are always an option down the road.”
She said she would prefer not to embarrass anyone, but the list of names is public information and news organizations requested it.
“We don’t think drought shaming is the way to go,” she said. “It doesn’t lead to a healthy environment for the neighborhood.”