Sometimes, I wonder why I bother

Sir,
I couldn’t agree more with Haig Assadourian’s letter (Cyprus Mail, August 1) about the mindless use of our precious water to hose down pavements and roads.

I disagree, however, with his assertion that the government is doing everything it can. It is simply trying to find ways to increase supply (at tremendous cost both in fiscal and environmental terms) so that we can continue to waste this precious resource.

They may have enacted a law making it illegal to waste water in this way, but nobody is enforcing it.

Appeals to people’s consciences obviously doesn’t work so I think the patrols he suggests are an excellent idea. Put them in the hands of cash-strapped municipalities, and the prospect of increasing their revenue might just mean they actually work.

Doubtless, when the inevitable cuts come, the first people to complain will be those who are so profligate with our supplies. I save every drop I can, but I sometimes wonder why I bother.

R. Charalambous, Nicosia

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.