Since the Bay Area seems to be doing a terrible job of conserving water during this 100-year drought we're in right now, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has sponsored a series of sexy billboards, print, and TV ads, all with the message that saving water "can feel oh so right." Like "a quickie” (in the shower). And, naturally, they found a guy who sounds like Barry White to do the voiceover.
The taglines are tame but mildly amusing, with the raciest, only in the TV ad, being: "Efficient fixtures for your kitchens and bathrooms... screw them on... yeah."
The TV ad, as SFGate reports, will begin airing next week. (SFGate incorrectly notes that the sexy R&B in the background is "smooth jazz.")
Governor Brown has called for a 20-percent cut in public water usage across the state, and so far San Franciscans have managed an 8-percent cut and East Bay residents only 3 percent. Our friends in San Jose, meanwhile, actually used more water in the first quarter of the year than they did in the same period last year.
Summer—when everyone's lawns turn especially crispy and when people are going to want to fill up those swimming pools and kiddie pools—is going to be the real test. And what happens when there are shortages will vary from place-to-place, since each community in California has different sources of water.
So far we've only heard about water-usage penalties being actively pursued in Santa Cruz and Pleasanton, the latter city charging water customers after their third offense when not hitting the mandatory 25-percent cutback goal. The cities of Dublin and Livermore have just raised prices on water all three East Bay communities depend on the state for water, while San Francisco is dependent on its own source, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
The Hetch Hetchy is currently at 65 percent of its max capacity with all Yosemite snowpack fully melted, but S.F. is a bit behind in conservation goals. The PUC is aiming for us to cut back by 10 percent over last year, or 8 billion gallons, and so far this year we've only conserved 1.4 billion gallons. We only narrowly missed having 20-percent mandatory cuts by meeting the 10-percent threshold for four weeks in a row.
So wash those dirty hands, sexy people, but turn off that naughty faucet while you're lathering up. Oh yeah.
