It was my fault. I knew what they were doing, but I thought I could salvage something too. The government has several con jobs going on with water conservation and there is nothing a householder can do but contribute to the government waste. I had asked for a new shower head to replace my old one. All my taps were placed with water saving devices too. I did this because my shower head didn't have an 'o' ring and so it leaked. All I wanted was an 'o' ring, but I am not good with plumbing, and the state government was offering to do their water saving thing, so I invited the Government in. They aren't the thieves I will be referring to, but you may feel they behaved poorly too. They promised to come at my convenience. I asked for a Saturday, when I wouldn't have to miss work. They insisted on a week day, but promised to come early. They came late. I wanted a shower head which I could move around, but because the plumber came late, I got a fixed one. At least the shower head didn't drip any more. But, it is considered to be an expensive head because it is effective in limiting water and allows for an adjustment of spray.
An industry has arisen where con men will swap a water saving shower head with a cheaper model. The con men can on sell the expensive head and the cheaper one still works to save water. So the con men are not, strictly speaking, breaking the law. In order to legitimize their work, the con men have forms indemnifying them from the allegation of theft, which is what they are doing. They aren't experienced plumbers, either. Usually, just a few students wanting to make a little money on the side, armed with a big wrench.
They have a patter. "The government wants you to save water and you will do that by having these heads installed" they say. They say you must sign their papers, because the government wants you to, by law, have water saving shower heads. It is pernicious, they are close to the truth that it is splitting hairs to argue with them. Normally I'd say I wasn't interested, but this time I needed something they might have been useful with. I didn't mind them giving me the cheaper shower head and profiting from it, but I could have used some experienced help with a tap I had problems with. So I invited them in with the hopes they would help me fix the tap .. maybe just tighten it with their enormous wrench.
My problematic tap was a hot water one, and it was positioned immediately above the hot water mains valve. The problematic tap was loose on its' thread, so if it was touched or shaken it can fall off and hot water jets about the room until the mains is closed. But the mains pipe is faulty and won't close entirely and fitting the tap back on the thread scalds the hands even with gloves. I demonstrated to the con men, who couldn't help but promised to come back the next day with a terminator tap. It had taken them an hour of practiced helplessness with the issue .. they weren't plumbers, just students.
So now I have a cheap shower head and a dripping hot water tap.
What they say is true about the state government, and any other ALP government. They want us to limit our water use. Instead of building a new dam to provide more water for the growing population at a cost of less than a cent a liter, they charge us for desalinated water which costs more than an equivalent bottle of cola. Sure it doesn't benefit the state, but it benefits developers who are creditors to the ALP. Next election, lets not invite those cons back in.
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This has been written for Zaya Toma's Blog.
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