Lincoln City Councilman: Fines, Snitching Not Needed For Drought Enforcement

LINCOLN (CBS13) — Amid some of the deepest water cuts and toughest punishments for water wasters in state history, a Lincoln City Councilman says the state's solution to the drought is wrong.

Spencer Short wants his city to consider a fine-free approach to the drought. He says his city has done well when it comes back to cutting back on water use, and penalizing residents isn't going to help them continue to do so.

"I think that the more we say a measure of success by the state board is how many you cite and how many people you fine, I think that goes against what we are actually trying to do," he said.

Short says Lincoln cut back its water use by 39 percent in May, which is above and beyond the 32 percent the state demanded. He says most residents want to make a difference, and he believes a few stern warnings will do the trick.

Having water agencies encourage neighbors to rat each other out for water waste is a bad idea, he said.

"We are a community of neighbors, we work with each other, and to run around in the middle of the night to take pictures of someone putting water in the gutter is really abysmal," he said.

Some Lincoln residents say fines aren't needed, and that many people may not be aware of the new rules, which means a friendly door knock could do the trick. Others say the idea of conserving needs to be hammered into people's heads, and the best way to do it is hitting them in the pocketbook.

"This is not a good thing, things need to be tightened up and people need to be responsible. Real simple," said Wayne Miller.

Short says the city should look into the idea of a water school as an alternative to fines. He also thinks the city shouldn't promote the idea of reporting water wasters.

"This is going to be over someday and we want to make sure we're still able to talk to our neighbors at the end of that," he said.

Currently in Lincoln, residents get two warnings, then a $50 fine.