Administration faces water conservation, but issue fails to get students’ attention

By Erlinda Santiago

daily bruin contributor

[email protected]

When it comes to water conservation, UCLA takes two sides. While
the administration makes a conscious effort to retrofit facilities
with the latest in water and energy saving technologies, it seems
to fail in educating students about the importance of their role in
water conservation.

Students like Amie McCampbell, a second-year undeclared student,
and Aaron Lee, a second-year linguistics student, believe students
in general have an apathetic attitude when it comes to water usage,
even with the growing concern over the state’s decreasing
water share of the Colorado River.

Lee, who grew up in Northern California and experienced
firsthand the effects of a drought, believes this attitude comes
from not having a “let’s save water
mentality.”

“When it’s free, (like in the dorms), we just use
and use and use,” Lee said.

Both McCampbell and Lee, having lived through a drought said
they are disturbed when campus sprinklers water the pavement,
poles, students walking to class, and just about everything, it
seems, except the grass.

“It’s annoying to have to walk in puddles,”
McCampbell said. “So much water is wasted.”

The issue of water conservation has now become a central topic
as California faces a reduced share of water from the Colorado
River.

On New Year’s Day, Interior Secretary Gale Norton handed
down the decision to enforce the original distribution of water
from the Colorado river, of which California is entitled to 4.4
million acre-feet of water per year. Known as the California 4.4
plan, it states that California will be allowed the continued use
of “surplus” water for the next 15 years in order to
slowly implement policies and programs that will curb water demand
and ensure that the state only draws what was allotted.

This decision, according to Keith Stolzenbach, one of the
professors in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department,
was not unexpected.

In 1929, California, along with six other states
““ Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming
““ signed a contract outlining each state’s share of the
water. For years, California has managed to circumnavigate the
compact as neighboring states did not demonstrate a need for more
water because of slow growth. Consequently, California has managed
to draw more than its allotted share of 4.4 million acre-feet of
water. This is about to change, however, as the other states are
now experiencing growth and boom which demand full use of their
water allocation.

“This is not a crisis. California has enough water.
Certainly UCLA can do its part but it is difficult,”
Stolzenbach said when asked what role UCLA can play in the water
issue.

Stolzenbach suggests conservation ““ a sentiment not lost
on the administration.

The Web site run by the Facilities Management reports that UCLA
water consumption has decreased. A nearly 20 percent decrease in
water consumption has been reported in 1999. According to Gail
Cowling, Executive Officer of Facilities Management, Environmental
Safety, the figures for last year’s decrease might be lower
due to construction and installation of systems that will use large
amounts of water during the initial stage of preparation and
installation, even though they are energy efficient in the long
run.

Many other energy saving technologies have been implemented,
especially in the residence halls.

According to McCampbell, in comparison to dorm faucets, such as
those in De Neve, where water flow is restricted, the strong
flowing water from campus faucets is a luxury.

“I go to the bathroom in Kerckhoff, the one with the
massive sinks. It feels luxurious to wash your hands in those
(after using dorm sinks),” McCampbell said.

Facilities Management is also testing waterless urinals in
attempt to save roughly 45,000 gallons of water per urinal per
year. Reusing waste water has also become normal practice as the
recycled water finds its way to the cooling towers.

According to Cowling, while Facilities Management is doing what
it can to reduce water consumption, the issue can be addressed only
as a community.

“The end users don’t see the (water) bill, and,
obviously, they might not be as aware as they should. It is a
community effort,” Cowling said.

Cowling believes students can still participate by reporting
leaky faucets and dealigned sprinklers by calling the number posted
on bathroom mirrors.

But even when students are provided with a number to call, those
like Jonathan Sunio, a second-year materials engineering student,
does not see water conservation as a big concern.

Living in Delta Terrace, Sunio said students were not really
told to do their part in conserving water. Last year, when
California was dealing with a power crisis, posters and signs where
visible everywhere reminding everyone to turn off lights whenever
possible.

In comparison with the power crunch experienced last year, the
water concern is not yet resonating with many students.

Says Sunio, “Last year, they made it an effort to make
everyone aware of the issue. With water conservation, no, not
really.”