Water shortage, Money shortage, brain shortage

Here we go again. Pro8News recently ran a story warning Laredoans not to steal water less they want to pay a $500 fine.  I didn't think we had a problem with residents stealing water. I thought it was mostly the fracking industry's trucks hooking up to the city's water hydrants.

The same story also warns our citizens not to "waste water" or your water bill will increase incrementally by $10 on top of any fine(s).

This begs the question: Do we have a water shortage or not? A few months ago, the city decided to do away with stage 3 water restrictions claiming that we had a very ample water supply available to us.  With this threat of fines and other assorted fees coming on the heels of the announcement of the city's projected budget shortfall, I wonder if this is a ploy to start raising revenue.

As the city manager and councilman Mike Garza agreed, any "new" spending has to be offset by some revenue stream.  Maybe the seedy council is already trying to shore up their accounts for the next wasteful vacation to DC or Austin.


Here's how LaredoTejas reported the about face on stage 3 water restrictions back in February:

City plays Jeckyl & Hyde with water supply

Talk about a split personality. The City of Laredo is certainly experiencing something of the sort in regards to it's view on water conservation- or the lack thereof. On the one hand the city is signalling that they are not really concerned about our dwindling water supply despite the current record drought.

In the last few months, the city has decided to end its stage 3 water restriction policy. This has given the false impression that we should not be the least concerned about the Gateway City's water supply. On top of that, the city has apparently decided to start the sale of water to the infamous fracking industry. It is a well-known fact that fracking even one well uses anywhere from 5 to 7 million gallons of precious water.