Opinion: California's Restaurant Water Law is As Insulting As It Is Pointless

Photo byBay Area Telegraph

One thing I hate about California is our tendency to pass ridiculous, virtue-signaling laws that inconvenience people, but do nothing to accomplish their actual goals.

Case in point? There's a California law on the books that makes it illegal for restaurants to serve you water without asking first.

Offering guests a glass of water when they sit down is a staple of restaurant service. It's free, and there's absolutely no reason why parched restaurant guests shouldn't get a bit of water when they sit down.

Yet since 2015, this common practice has been illegal in the Golden State. Restaurants that have the audacity to serve you water when you sit down risk a fine of $500 per day.

That's right--a restaurant that performs this basic piece of good service could end up paying $15,000 per month in fines for the offense.

What does this actually accomplish? It certainly doesn't save a substantial amount of water!

Half of California's water is used for the environment. A further 40% is used for farming.

That leaves only 10% for consumers and businesses. Of that, the majority is used for things like irrigating lawns, washing dishes, and performing industrial processes.

The water we actually drink is a literal drop in a very large bucket.

Yet each time you sit down in a California restaurant, the waiter has to perform a pointless little dance.

"Welcome! May I get you a water?" they have to ask.

Only if you say "Yes" can they begin to begin out glasses. Otherwise, that $500 fine looms. And this being cash-strapped California, it's possible that the state would actually enforce that ridiculous regulation.

At its core, laws like this are about signaling virtue while doing nothing of substance. It's insulting to insinuate that consumers are the problem, when really California's water issues run far deeper.

Rather than make consumers feel guilty for avoiding dehydration, we should work on solving the deeper water issues in California--manging droughts, equitably distributing water between agriculture and other uses, and determining how much environmental use is strictly necessary.

So stop asking me about glasses of water in restaurants. Let me drink, stop signaling virtue that you don't have, and focus resources on the real water issues our state faces.