Wasting Water in Southland

A headline in The Times says “Drive to Cut Water Use 10% Falls Short of Goal” (Metro, Oct. 18).

But of course it fell short of goal--and I can give at least one good reason why. The Department of Water and Power would have us conserve water, a policy with which I am in agreement. I have been conserving water, as well as other natural resources, for more than 20 years. But the city does not practice what it preaches. The city should conserve water along with the rest of us.

On my frequent walks through Pan Pacific Park I am shocked and dismayed at the senseless waste of water there. The automatic sprinklers (at least I think that they are automatic; I can’t imagine a real person being so deliberately wasteful), when activated, soak the already wet ground until the water stands in pools in several areas, wasting hundreds, perhaps thousands of gallons, not just occasionally, but several times a week. Even bare ground is watered, while in other areas the earth appears parched for a drink, dry and cracked.

I doubt that this is an isolated example. Multiply thousands of gallons per day by the number of city parks and it’s easy to understand why the drive to cut water use fell short of the goal.

EARL B. SCHUMAN

Los Angeles