Dispelling the Rumor Around Showering and Doing Laundry On Same Day
By Judi Curry
The last few days have seen comments on Next Door that pertain to Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668 –the legality of showering and doing laundry on the same day, beginning January 1, 2020.
It is amazing how difficult it has been to check this out and see if it is true – or false. The best that I can tell is that former Governor Jerry Brown did sign these bills, but it is a falsehood about residents being penalized for showering and doing laundry on the same day.
The legislation imposes restrictions on water use on cities, water districts and some larger agricultural water districts. There is no truth to the rumor that California residents have been limited to 55 gallons of indoor water use per person per day, and that people that violated the law would be fined $1000 per day during normal seasons and $10,000 per day during drought emergencies.
The above rumor started with the Federalist Papers Project, a conservative website that has “peddled falsehoods before.” But like other articles they have published, it appears that they got this one wrong also.
The best that I can determine is that “ . . . . under the new legislation, Californians will not actually be penalized on an individual basis for excessive water use. In reality, the bills stipulate that cities, water districts and large agricultural water districts must come up with budgetary targets for water use by 2022. They will then need to meet their targets across their ratepayer bases, with failure to do so resulting in a fine of $1000 per day or $10,000 per day during drought emergencies.”
As stated above, these are not “ . . individual mandates for homeowners, but actually a task given to each water district to average water consumption use out to hit the goal. “
In essence, what I found is that the new California legislation does not actually make taking a shower and doing laundry on the same day illegal, nor does it create a financial penalty for residents whose water use exceeds a 55 gallon daily limit. Some Californians will need to use less water, but the police will not come knocking or demanding hefty fines should someone shower and do laundry on the same day.
So … to alleviate some of the fears about smelly neighbors – the rumor is just that – a rumor – and, at least at this time, is false.
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As an East Coast resident, always wanted to go to California, and did many times for vacation. These vacations were a great experience. The weather is perfect, but there is a price to be paid for sunny skies and low humidity – droughts and wildfires. California is still the greatest.