Columnist Susan Snyder: Businesses left looking like drips

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 8:27 a.m.

When it comes to cultivating plant life, my best bet is with whatever has formed in forgotten Tupperware at the back of the refrigerator.

But after nearly five years of trials and many errors, I finally have found some backyard plants that will survive without wasting water Southern Nevada doesn't have.

So imagine my frustration when I head over to a place such as Boca Park for dinner or shopping and see not one, not two, but four fountains bubbling away as if the drought was someone else's problem.

Looks matter, and that always looked bad.

Boca Park's owners were fined for not switching off the fountains, and they shut off the water this week.

It was the right thing to do -- with or without fines.

Why? Because it's hard to tell Jane Public she can dribble water on her rose bushes once a week when the furniture store up the street has water burbling out front 10 hours a day, said Doug Bennett, water conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

"Am I willing to make the required changes at home if I pull up to a traffic light and look over and see a fountain shooting water into the air?" he said.

Not likely.

This isn't about what the rules actually say. It's about the public's perception of what a drought looks like. A drought means we're running low on water, and we all need to do what we can to conserve it -- even if that means taking steps that do little more than look good.

Businesses shouldn't wait for the water police to come knocking. Responsible citizens lead by example.

Those of us learning to cultivate plants with names we can't remember might even be more likely to patronize businesses that seem a part of our community by conserving water with the rest of us.

And honestly, if you serve cold food or sell crummy towels it doesn't matter if the fountain outside spews water in five colors. We'll take our money elsewhere.

"It's not the fountain that's drawing people to the department store," Bennett said. "It's the department store."

Plenty of residents seem capable of setting examples for their neighbors by following watering restrictions and replacing thirsty turf and flowers with hardy, water-conserving desert landscaping.

But it is discouraging when broken sprinkler heads along the sidewalks send rivers into the street or fountains run hours on end outside coffee shops.

We're trying to play fair during a drought. Why can't our business leaders?

It means realizing we live in a community of many, rather than a universe of one.

Many new business owners are finding they can create an attractive development without turf and water features, Bennett said. Many new homeowners are opting for desert landscaping, even if they paid for turf when they originally bought their homes.

Little by little, we're learning.

"But it's going to be a long process," Bennett said.

And it will take even longer if residents continue to receive mixed messages every time they head to a store for a box of cereal -- or a new shower head.