June Great Story by Hannah Braun, 2017-18 Bay Area Water Fellow
Earlier this month a new resident of Fremont called the water conservation hotline concerned about wasteful water practices. This isn’t something out of the ordinary that we deal with here at ACWD, as we regularly get water waste reports either over the phone or through our water waste report form online. What was unique about this case was that it was occurring on the caller’s property.
The sprinkler system was running every day for an excessive amount of time, to the point of the turf becoming completely saturated with water run-off. The landlord would not give the new tenet access to the sprinkler system and was not being reasonable with them. I completely understand the frustration this person was going through, especially since they are the ones paying the water bill. Unfortunately we are not allowed to reprimand the landlord; however, I suggested sending them a water waste letter.
The letter informs the receiver where the water waste is coming from and why this is an issue. The caller was concerned that she was not in the right, but I reassured her that she had every right to be upset over this water waste issue. I do hope that this letter helped resolve the issue and that she will have peace of mind that water is no longer wasted on her property. At the end of our conversation she shared her gratitude with me working with her on this problem.
Moments like this make me grateful working at ACWD because I get to interact with customer and problem solve.