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Stolen water is conceptually distinct from wasted water. People who use hydrants without paying for them are technically stealing that water, but they are not
by Crito 11y ago
Stolen water is conceptually distinct from wasted water.
People who use hydrants without paying for them are technically stealing that water, but they are not "wasting" it in any sense that actually matters to New York. Unlike in California, there is no risk of one day turning on your tap and having nothing come out. They, unlike California, are not running out of water.
> "Hopefully, the water sprayed from the hydrant is treated before being released. Most groundwater in LA is treated"
1) NYC does not use groundwater. The vast majority of their water comes from an extensive system of reservoirs, tunnels and aqueducts, gravity fed straight into the city.
2) Because their water comes reservoirs located in wilderness regions of New York, their water is naturally filtered and is pure enough to drink with next to no treatment. They only add chlorine to that water.
3) The water you get from a legally tapped fire hydrant is no different from the water you get from an illegally tapped fire hydrant.
- mturmon 11y agoYou missed my point regarding the groundwater. My point is that the runoff from the hydrant must be treated before being released, and that treatment has a cost, which is reflected in the sewage rates. Your other points regarding the origins of NYC water don't affect my argument: despite the apparent effortlessness of getting the water to that Bronx hydrant, said water has a price which is substantially the same in NY as in other areas like CA. Perhaps that value is of interest when deciding whether there is any significance to spraying loads of it out through a hydrant, versus being parsimonious (i.e., "waste").
- Crito 11y agoStealing sewage services still isn't "wasting water". It's regrettable, but I think NYC can withstand the additional budgetary strain caused by kids playing with hydrants. > "despite the apparent effortlessness of getting the water to that Bronx hydrant, said water has a price which is substantially the same in NY as in other areas like CA." That's just all the more proof of Californian's absolute insanity when it comes to distributing water.