In America, The People Decide

Our daughter Meredith and her family came from Florida to spend a couple of weeks with us recently. Our children are all so different one from the other, as any parent who has more than one child will attest. We particularly enjoy Meredith for her singular nature.
When she got out of the shower the first morning they were here, she commented to me, “If you want to be able to tolerate me for two weeks, you are going to have to do something about that shower. I could get cleaner bathing in a tea cup than I can under that shower head.”
I thought, ‘Oh no, what’s wrong? Has the plumbing gone bad? Am I going to have to call a plumber?’ I took the issue to my wife, Patricia, and asked her what changed, as I had not recalled a problem with that shower before.
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Poor regulations perpetuate
government which is increasingly out of touch.
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Patricia explained that she had bought a showerhead attached to a long hose because it was needed to bathe the smallest grandchildren who could not stand under a shower, and the parents needed a hand-held sprayer for them. She had simply taken the old showerhead off and screwed the new one with the hose on in its place.
So I was perplexed. Why had that created a problem? Then I remembered something Carl Aspenberg had mentioned decades ago when we served on the Wildwood Crest Planning Board. Carl had owned the Rio Motel in Wildwood at the time, and in an effort to conserve water he installed showerheads with water limiters. It did not end up creating a savings however, because of so many complaints from their customers, including one who had ripped the shower out of the wall.
I disconnected the new showerhead and hose, and took it apart. Sure enough, it had a water limiter hidden inside. I pulled out the limiter, reassembled the device, and voila, the shower worked like a champ. No wonder it only dribbled; there was no way the dime-sized water saver could even begin to supply water for a fist-sized shower head (see pictures).
Here is my point. The water limiter was put in there for a reason: to conserve water, but it wasn’t an effective solution. When someone buys a large showerhead, he expects it to dispense ample water. When it doesn’t, it creates anger and frustration, and a disconnect with what are presumably government regulations which mandate such things as water limiters.
The manufacturer would have no motivation to install a limiter, only to frustrate his customer. Environmental regulations are necessary but they have to be overseen by our elected officials who represent our feelings.
The regulators would do the environmental cause a favor if they would first test their regulations to be sure they actually function. If they don’t function, people will find a work-around, which denies us all the benefits that could flow from well-conceived regulations, as well as perpetuates a government that is evermore out of touch.
From the Bible:
A wicked person’s own crimes will trap him; he will be held fast by the ropes of his sin. Proverbs 5:22 Complete Jewish Bible