It has been a while since we had a rain like this morning's. Guess I won't be gardening today. But that is OK, we needed the rain.

If you have ever been on a private well, rainy days don't always get you down. Remember the drought of 1988? (I remember the year because I was pregnant.) It did not rain all summer it seemed. Because we were worried about our well going dry, no one had to tell us to conserve water. We did not go on our usual summer camping trip but delayed until Sept. Often we joke we were the drought busters that summer because while camping, it rained so hard it collapsed our tent! (Oh, that was fun.) But the drought was over and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

The rain this morning got me to thinking about how too little rain isn't good for people on wells, but too much rain isn't good either.  We used to be on a septic system when we moved here in 1986. Sometime between moving in and getting sewer, there was a year that was too rainy. We did laundry, dishes, showers, and even flushing sparingly. Again, conservation was the key to surviving our too high water level. No one had to tell us to do that--it was in our best interest to do it.

As I thought about the too little/too much rain and how both prompted water conservation in our household, I started thinking about how the more conveniences and services we have, the more wasteful we become.

Think about all the food we waste in our culture. One of my in-laws says she never takes home or saves leftovers. I must have looked rather shocked when she said that. She explained she never eats them and just throws them away anyway, so why save them?

That would never happen if a person had to grow and preserve their own food. When you do that, you are invested! It takes a lot of time and effort to grow and can, dry, or freeze your bounty. In my early married years I did this. Trust me, you don't waste a thing!

What about heating and lighting? Back when people chopped their own wood and dipped their own candles, nobody had to tell them to turn their thermostats down! You heated only to the necessary point. Often people went to bed shortly after dark. (I don't want to go back to that era.) 

It is just human nature. The more we have--the easier it is, the more we don't appreciate it and the more we waste. This concept applies to other things too.

How about health care? This is an issue in the presidential campaign. Should we provide Government health care to all that covers everything or look at ways to increase market forces and personal accountability? 

What about providing a college education? Would a student be more diligent and careful about class selection if they were paying themselves or if the government was paying? 

The more we have done for us, the less accountable we become.

Well, that is enough early morning musing for one day.

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It is watering restriction season for Waukesha County, but in Brookfield, lawn watering, pool filling, and car washing* is restricted whether you are on a private well or municipal water every day of the year.

Somehow I was under the assumption that if one had a private well they were exempt from the watering restrictions. Many people on municipal water kept their private wells for watering and car washing purposes. I also thought there was a season to water restrictions. Not so. All Brookfield residents are under the restrictions all of the time: (My emphasis)

Sprinkling lawns, gardens, shrubs, trees, and other vegetation, washing vehicles or structures and filling swimming pools are restricted to certain days. Sprinkling is restricted to before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. by properties with even-numbered addresses on even-numbered days, and by properties with odd-numbered addresses on odd-numbered days. The regulations apply all year.

Now I don't have a problem with the concept of conserving water. We don't sprinkle our lawn as a rule, and washing a car is not a weekly occurrence. Brown lawns do survive. Even during the drought of 1988, when it did not rain all summer, I think we only broke down and sprinkled a few times.

In fact, most gardeners know that if you sprinkle often but not long, the root systems tend to grow horizontally instead of down. Watering less frequently, but longer, will result in stronger plants. (Exception: tomatoes need more frequent watering I think.) If the roots are established deeply, more than likely it will rain in a 2 week period and then watering isn't necessary. Early morning watering is better than mid day or evening too. 

Newly established lawns, plants/shrubs, and trees do need more care and they are exempt from restrictions. And "A watering can, container or hose may be used at any time to water gardens, trees or shrubs if the device is used manually and not left unattended."

The problem I have with restrictions is for one, the day system. Yes, it is simple. I am just thinking that maybe, just maybe I get the troops to finally wash the vinyl siding on my house only to realize the day is wrong! That is just a little annoyance.

The bigger picture is that Brookfield (and other cities outside of the Lake Michigan watershed) approve heavy water using development like restaurants or car washes left and right, but then tells me, who washes a car maybe 4 times a year I am restricted! (Car washes that use recycled water are exempt from the restriction, but they still use more than a homeowner!)

The article said that fines would be given for violators. In Brookfield the fine is $350. In Waukesha for example, "We wanted to nudge people to realize that we are serious about protecting the (water) resource," said Nancy Quirk of the Waukesha Water Utility.

I don't mind protecting water resources. Plentiful, good quality well water is a problem in Brookfield. But if municipalities were really serious about protecting water resources, would they be approving more and more heavy water users like restaurants, hotels, and car washes? Will water concerns at all determine what VK puts in at his Ruby Farms development? Approving them and then cracking down on residents to "save water" seems a little 2 faced to me. 

*UPDATE: City clarifies sprinkling policy, New rule aims to cut down lawn watering  Director of Public Works "Grisa said the ordinance does not apply to certain expectations, including hand washing of residential vehicles, residential uses such as children running through sprinklers and had watering of plants with a watering can or hose. He said that residents using water for those purposes should exercise common sense and not keep water running when it's not being used."

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