People who waste water should remember that we live in a desert

As a native Californian I was intensely interested in the article last week about water conservation. Growing up here we were taught that our water came from up north and other states and that, as a precious resource, we shouldn't waste it.

The problem is, as more and more people moved to California, they didn't get the message that we do, in fact, live in a desert. For years I watched developers build houses, apartments and strip malls, wondering where we were going to get the water.

At the same time I observed people letting water run down the drain from sprinklers or turning on a tap and walking away. I have seen men standing at a sink shaving while the water ran and ran just so they could douse their razors under it. Even if we had unlimited access to water, why would you let it drain into a sewer at a rate of gallons per minute?

Here are a few things I have done all my life. I keep a gallon jug next to the faucet in the kitchen and bathroom. Whenever I run water for a shower or dishes I capture the cold water in the jug and use it to rinse the dishes or fill the toilet tank or water the plants or mop the floor. That averages two gallons a day.

Yes, I have a lawn. It brings me a lot of pleasure, and I water it carefully, but now I'm supposed to let it die to make room for more people we can't afford in the first place? I am tired of making sacrifices so other people can make a profit.

Where did most of the rainwater end up this season? Out to sea, that's where. Why aren't there water collection stations to capture that rain and assuage part of the problem? And why wasn't this problem addressed 20 years ago like every other environmental problem we're facing today? Jon Cavanaugh Agoura Hills