City Declares War on Drip-Happy Residents Amid Water Famine
Facing record low pressure, the water department threatens fines for citizens who let faucets run to prevent freezing pipes.
Don't let your water spigots run! It will cost you a $10 fine if the water inspectors catch you. The water department is cracking down because there is a water famine; yesterday, pressure became so low that some places on the high service could hardly get any water at all. People have been letting faucets drip to prevent pipe bursts, but these individual efforts have depleted the system to the point of collapse. The city has been forced to pump 'berated Gulch water' back into the pipes to keep up supply.
“Don't let your water spigots run! It will cost you $10 fine if the water inspectors catch you.”
The tension between infrastructure capacity and individual conservation during extreme weather is a recurring theme in Pacific Northwest city management. Today's conservation mandates often echo this 1909 struggle, though fortunately with fewer $10 fines for dripping taps.
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