Dealing with the drought

I am 78 years old. My wife and I are on a fixed income. In response to the current water shortage, our actions fall into three categories:

Things we have done:

▪  We’ve limited our showers to 10 minutes.

▪  We’ve installed low-flow shower heads and toilet.

▪  We water the landscaping twice a week only during appropriate hours.

Things we won’t do:

▪  We won’t rip out our lawn and replace it with plants and ground cover that looks like they were stolen from the Mojave Desert.

▪  We won’t add a drip irrigation system (did I mention we’re on a fixed income?).

▪  We won’t carry buckets full of gray water from the house to storage in the backyard to irrigate our landscaping (did I mention I’m 78?).

Things we’ve accomplished:

▪  We started our water conservation program in January 2014.

▪  So far this year, according to our latest water bill, using 2013 as the base year, we have reduced our water use by 59.2 percent.

We’ve given all we’re able to give. If it isn’t enough, we’re sorry. If there are any fines to be levied, please file a claim in our probate.

This story was originally published May 30, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Dealing with the drought."