When this town's government declared a water emergency (because of their screw-up) and imposed water restrictions, I cut back on my water usage. They demanded 20%, but I was able to cut my use by 40% (my parents cut theirs by 50%).
Water is essential, and I was willing to help, even knowing that the Tragedy of the Commons meant that many people wouldn't cut back. I was not one of those calling for them to be "fined" or otherwise punished.
But, being who I am, I don't trust government. Amounts ("85,000 gallons", "4 feet", etc.) were posted without context. That always tells me someone is trying to deceive. So I took it upon myself to check the water levels myself.
There are 4 water tanks in town, 3 of which have gauges that are easy to see and read. The fourth, a water sphere tower, has no way to be read by the public. Someone suggested a laser thermometer gun, but the ones with the necessary precision to read something at the distance involved would be too expensive, so I'll have to ignore that one.
What I discovered was that the tanks weren't as empty as we were being led to believe.
I wanted to document this, so I have been photographing the water gauges every day and posting the photos online. The funny thing is that as soon as my first photos were online, the story changed a little, and it was admitted that the tanks were "almost full". (That was fast!)
I wish I had been watching in the months leading up to the crisis to see what the "normal" water levels are. I suspect we are close.
But none of that is useful for the agenda to buy the land that the city commissioners want to buy, from a crony- a deal that was roundly condemned as a bad deal two years ago when it was proposed and a petition was circulated against it. The government still wants this deal (no other) and is still pushing this as the only possible solution. They are still trying to scare people into accepting this plan.
But...
The worst restrictions have been lifted. Lawn watering is being discouraged and limited to one day per week per address. It will be interesting to see the effect of this, seeing how much water my parents used on the one day in the last billing cycle when they watered their backyard.
If it makes a big difference, I will be there to see it myself so that the rulers can't gaslight the population with more fearmongering. Combined with my open condemnation of the local Flock spyware, I'm probably putting myself in danger.
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