12,579 gallons a day? Gulp!
Retired Chevron exec, A’s Beane atop list of big users
The Oakland A’s Billy Beane was among the highest water users in the East Bay during California’s drought emergency this summer, trailing only a retired Chevron executive and a prominent venture capitalist.
Beane, the A’s executive vice president of baseball operations, had the third-highest household total at 5,996 gallons per day, according to public records released Thursday by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The average district customer uses less than 250 gallons a day.
Beane, a Danville resident, said he has tried to reduce his water use this year but added that he has a large, landscaped yard. “I certainly pay for
it,” he said.
George Kirkland, of Danville, the retired oil executive, used 12,579 gallons of water per day — about 50 times the district average. He was the largest user among 1,109 customers on a partial list of customers slapped with excess-use penalties for using more than 1,000 gallons a day.
Kirkland, a former Chevron vice chairman and executive vice president, said his use soared because of a leak in a water line to the 2 acres of vineyard on his 4acre lot.
“I didn’t realize I had a leak until I got the water bill,” said Kirkland, who irrigates his vineyard with drip irrigation. “Drip irrigation doesn’t help if you have a leak you didn’t know about.”
He said EBMUD should have a system to alert customers of sudden spikes in water use rather than having to wait two months for a written bill to be mailed out.
Second on the list at 8,091 gallons of water per day was Mark Pine, a longtime venture capitalist living in Alamo.
The majority of the excess users were located in warmer, more affluent Contra Costa County communities with large yards, including Alamo, Danville, Orinda and Lafayette.
EBMUD board members said they adopted the excess water-use penalties to give high users a message to conserve, although some critics have argued wealthy customers will not be deterred by the penalties.
The district released the names and consumption in response to a public records request by this newspaper and other media outlets.
EBMUD officials said they are obligated to release the names because state laws require disclosure of information about customers who violate district rules and policies. Other water agencies, including Contra Costa Water District and Alameda County Water District, say they don’t release similar data because they have not instituted excess-use penalties.
The East Bay water board passed excess-use penalties, effective July 1, as part of an effort to meet a state order to cut districtwide water use by 16 percent. The district has set its own bar even higher, seeking a 20 percent cut. The district has exceeded those targets, saving as much as 30 percent in some months.
The list released Thursday night was partial because not all customers are billed at the same time. Billing is spread out over a twomonth period.
EBMUD officials said the names released so far represent about a third of the district’s customers. More names are expected to be released later this year.
District spokeswoman Abby Figueroa said the district mailed written notices before summer to warn customers with high use that they would be penalized if they failed to stay within the 1,000-gallon daily limit.