The Executive Vice President of the Oakland Athletics, Billy Beane, is a rich man. And, as is often the case with rich men, Beane appears to be used to getting what he wants. If what he happens to want is to use 24 times more water than his neighbors, well then so be it — declarations of emergency drought be damned.
The Oakland Tribune reports that Beane, who lives in the East Bay town of Danville, uses water at a rate well above his neighbors in the wealthy Oakland suburb.
Beane... had the third-highest household total at 5,996 gallons per day, according to public records released Thursday by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The average district customer uses less than 250 gallons a day.
Five thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six gallons per day. Every day.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District released the list of excessive water users yesterday in response to a public records request by the Tribune. As the Tribune notes, the billing cycles of the EBMUD means that the list "was partial because not all customers are billed at the same time."
Among the other culprits was a retired Chevron exec who had Beane beat: Because of two acres of grape vineyard on his property and apparent leak in a water line this summer, George Kirkland of Danville used 12,579 gallons of water per day, or 50 times the district average.
As you may know, the Major League Baseball player turned front office scout turned general manager turned VP and partial Oakland A's owner revolutionized the way baseball players are evaluated in the last decade by applying statistical analysis to their performance. The non-sports fans out there might know him as the guy Brad Pitt played in the 2011 film Moneyball.
Where was all this water going, you ask? Does Beane have a vineyard too, or perhaps a grow lab in his basement? Nope. Just a big yard, it turns out. Beane told the Oakland Tribune that "he has tried to reduce his water use this year but added that he has a large landscaped yard. 'I certainly pay for it,' he said."
Perhaps he should apply some of those famed analytical skills toward his water use.