Powered by The Oklahoman MainStreetOK.com Panhandle

The Oklahoman Electronic Edition

Call me a stickler for semantics but I can’t understand why the term “rationing” is being used to describe Guymon’s emergency water restrictions.  Rationing is “the controlled distribution of resources and scarce goods or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one’s allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time,” as Wikipedia defines it.

The city’s proclamation certainly never uses that term. You can read the proclamation yourself on the city’s website, here: http://guymonok.org/. The city restricts lawn watering and prohibits wasted water. Wasted water is runoff to a hard surface (street and gutters). I like the city’s definition of water waste: Any water used that is not necessary for life (human, animals and plants), health, or to save property.

There is a HUGE difference between ration and restriction. Just ask anyone who has been around for a true rationing situation!