Travis must conserve water

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Stephen Collier
  • 349th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  'Rain, rain, go away ... come back another day." Well, rain, that day is now.

And we need you fast.

For those who haven't read the papers or watched the news, California is in the middle of a historic drought. The state's governor, Jerry Brown, has directed California's State Water Resources Control Board to enact strict conservation of the liquid resource from Shasta in the north to San Diego in the south, with the aim of achieving a 25-percent reduction in use, a tall order for a state of nearly 39 million people, but a necessary one.

As Airmen with the privilege of being stationed at one of the premier mobility bases, it's time for us to do our part to help our Golden State neighbors. That means conserving water ourselves, even if it means changing our ways of thinking, whether on or off base.

Now, some people might say it's their right to use water as they see fit. After all, they're the ones paying the bill.

Not so fast. Of course, we all want to respect each other's right to use the resources they pay for as they see fit. However, being good neighbors means rising above for the betterment of the community as a whole.

Travis isn't alone. In 2014, Vandenberg AFB, California, saw a nearly 35 percent drop in water usage on base, according the installation's civil engineer squadron's then-operations flight commander. Part of that justification wasn't just presidential mandates or directives from Air Force Space Command, but according to the installation's website, a need to be "good neighbors" as "conscientious stewards" of the land. It would only seem right for Travis to adopt this mindset as well.

That's all well and good, but others might make the argument that changing the way they use water, from washing dishes to scrubbing Fido, is simply too much of an inconvenience.

Changing habits can be hard - that's entirely understandable, but, again, we must consider the situation we're in. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has highlighted that Lake Mead, one of the state's primary reservoirs, is more than 130 feet below normal levels. NOAA also documented the lake hasn't seen a healthy level of water since its last peak in 1983, the year this author was born.

That should be shocking, and should give anyone pause who enjoys liberally dousing their lawns with water during peak hours of the afternoon. In times of crisis, and this is certainly a crisis, each of us are asked to do our part as a community to respond accordingly.

While some change is necessary to address this historical drought, many individuals will find that making small tweaks to their everyday habits will not only prove insignificant in the end, but we'll all feel better about doing our part to play a positive role.

Now, it can be argued there are many homeowners, even on base, who have invested quite a bit in keeping up their pristine lawn. But don't let the specter of green grass and tantalizing tulips distract you from our responsibility of being good neighbors. After all, Balfour Beatty Communities, the organization which manages our privatized housing, has already lead by example.

Mark Dupree, BBC community manager, said base housing has seen a 13.8 percent decrease in water usage during the course of two years. Dupree said the water savings "is (a) testimony to our efforts and those of our residents."

We're already committed to water use reduction. Let's keep it going. Dupree also said the installation needed to do more to conserve, which is why Balfour Beatty is working to formulate a plan with Travis to reduce water consumption to a previously mandated 16 percent reduction.

The excuses can be endless as to why we shouldn't worry about the state's water crisis or why it doesn't matter to us. Isn't it fitting all the energy used to come up with an excuse could have been used to be part of the solution?

We all need to play our part in this crisis, and that means simply conserving water. We can do that through small, but important changes to how we use and consume water daily. Sometimes, the small things make the biggest difference.

Until Mother Nature flows more rain through the faucet above, it's up to us to pick up her slack. Let's all be good community partners and conserve water.