Water Restrictions - that'll fix the problem

Water restrictions and new rules for sod irrigation have been issued by Lake County commissioners in Florida, and it has the libertarian in me a little ticked off.

What's all the fuss about? Good question.

Florida, a place surrounded by water and known for swamps, wetlands, lakes and tropical storms, is having water problems...again in 2008.

Apparently they're wasting water by watering grass, and they need more government help!

The revised rules are in response to a seasonal shrinkage of the water supply. The initial focus of the restrictions were targeted at the use of St Augustine sod and grass. The government types were thinking of banning it. Yes, banning the use of sod and banning St Augustine grass.

Apparently it takes a bit of water to keep it looking nice, and so it's labeled as a grass responsible for causing people to waste water. Therefore, according to government wisdom, we need to establish water restrictions.

Initial Rules - miss the mark

In November, 2008 the Southwest Florida Water Management District issued a modified Phase III Water Shortage declaration that created additional water restrictions for lawns. The restrictions are in response to water shortages in Tampa and surrounding communities.

The restrictions essentially prohibit replacement of sod until June of 2009, unless the replacement has been scheduled as of the end of October, 2008. New homes, roads and public works projects were exceptions to the restrictions.

Apparently, sod requires too much water to get established, so it was banned for the time being. Never mind that the problem isn't sod or the type of grass being watered, the problem is a shortage of water.

The Florida Sod Growers Cooperative and the Florida Nursery Growers Association and the Florida Sod Growers Association stepped in to help some of the misguided commissioners solve the problem. They pointed out that it was a water usage issue and an educational issue, not a plant issue.

It seems at least a couple commissioners listened and have recognized that sod or grass isn't the problem, it's the use of water. At least one of the Lake County commissioners notes that the goal isn't to ban anything, but rather to save water.

Well, at least someone in government gets it. Now, will they understand what to do about it?

Let's review basic economics. When a resource becomes scarce, the price of the resource goes up, if the demand for it is still there. This is the simple law of supply and demand. Think of gasoline in the years 2007 to 2009 - the record high prices led to less consumption, and that led to excess supply which made the prices drop precipitously.

Modified Rules - ignore the marketplace

In December of 2008, the commissioners modified their original plans of grass and sod restrictions, and will allow grass plugs or sod to be watered daily for the first 15 days, then every third day for the next 15 days. Previously, watering was allowed every day for the first 30 days and every second day for the next 30 days.

So, the revised rules don't ban a particular grass, but they still impose water restrictions, and restricting what people do shouldn't be the focus of a government of free people, especially when the activity being restricted doesn't directly hurt others. People should decide on their own what they should and should not do.

This episode with is yet another symptom of people in government feeling the need to control the behavior of others through preventive law like water restrictions. It also shows a failure of those in government to recognize the adverse effect on individual liberty and free enterprise.

Banning use of sod and banning a type of grass isn’t a good answer because it hurts free enterprise and infringes on personal choice. Instead of focusing on high water users (the many voters), the initial government solution was to hurt sod producers (the fewer voters).

People should be able to enjoy the grass they want, replace it with sod if they so choose, and use all the water they care to pay for to maintain it. It’s called freedom and we should get reacquainted with it.

The Solution

A better solution to government bans and water restrictions is to promote water conservation and establish a tiered water rate based on usage. This will naturally discourage waste as high water users will pay more for water.

People using water can figure out what to do about the resource they are paying for - they don’t need government coercion to replace their (wise or unwise) decision-making.

This keeps choice in the hands of individuals and takes away the one-size-fits-all approach that government often takes. The problem is water, not grass. What’s next? Should we ban washing cars, swimming pools, water slides and bathing our pets?

Government goes too far, too often, and it’s all because we sit back quietly and follow those that think they are supposed to be our leaders.

When you take decision-making out of the hands of free people, don’t be surprised if they develop a culture of expecting the government to make more and more of their decisions. Also, don’t be surprised when 20/20 hindsight causes them to blame government for unwise decisions.

The libertarian in me would rather be free to choose than to be restricted by rules. Let the market economy handle the situation with pricing that naturally follows supply and demand. Our market economy get's fouled up each time government steps in and tries to regulate, restrict, promote or influence.

Done with Water Restrictions, take me back to Stupid Laws