Woodside Woman Struggles To Convince Neighbors To Conserve Water

WOODSIDE (KPIX 5) – If only everyone in Woodside could be like Debbie Mendelson in coping with California's drought.

"I have to walk the talk," the environmentalist told KPIX 5. "People don't have water to drink, so I figure I shouldn't be filling a pond."

But hundreds of Mendelson's neighbors don't seem to care like her, sucking up 75,000 gallons a month of precious drinking water to sustain leafy green yards.

While Gov. Jerry Brown is calling for fields to get ripped up statewide, KPIX 5 found fresh sod seemingly ready to roll out in Woodside.

Not at Mendelson's home. Her grass is gone, replaced by wood chips. "I think there has to be a general attitudinal shift in how people think about water," she said.

So far, Mendelson has not convinced her neighbors, or town council for that matter to launch a large-scale water saving plan. But she is not ready to back down. "Let the high end users know, we all have to do our part," she said.

Woodside
Drought