“Ini diadakan setiap tahun, kita ambil lokasi di BSD tahun ini, biasanya di Caringin, Bogor,” kata Ketua Penyelenggara Ogata Grow Out Sugiarto Budiono, Sabtu (19/5/2012).

Pengunjung dapat membeli ikan yang dipamerkan, mengikuti diskusi seputar ikan koi, hingga lelang koi pada acara yang diselenggarakan oleh Jakarta Koi Center, dealer Ogata Koi (ternak ikan koi di Jepang) ini. Dalam program Grow Up ini, pembeli ikan Koi tidak langsung membawa pulang koi cantik tersebut, tetapi akan diserahkan kembali kepada dealer untuk dirawat dan ditumbuhkan hingga bulan September 2012.

“Orang beli ikan tapi tidak langsung dibawa pulang. Dikumpulkan di tempat saya, nanti ditumbuhkan bersama sampai September, pas ulang tahun Jakarta Koi Center akan dilombakan,” kata pendiri Jakarta Koi Center, Sugiarto, Sabtu (19/5/2012).

Ikan-ikan koi yang dipamerkan di sini terdiri dari bermacam jenis koi. Ada koi berwarna hitam-putih yaitu jenis shiro dan jika berwarna hitam-putih-merah merupakan jenis showa. Selama tiga hari, ada sekitar 150 koi yang dilelang dan lebih dari 300 koi yang dipamerkan sekaligus untuk dijual. Lelang dimulai dari harga Rp 1 juta.

Lelang pertama 22 ekor jenis sanke, 19 ekor ginrin showa dan 20 ekor shiro utsuri. Lelang kedua sebanyak 30 ekor nisai dan sansai ogata. Pada lelang ketiga pada Sabtu, ada 45 ekor di mana 50 persen hasil lelang ketiga ini akan disumbangkan kepada Sekolah Dasar Salamo di Semarang. “Semua koi yang dilelang ini dari Jepang, tidak ada yang lokal,” kata Sugiarto.

Penggemar maupun peternak ikan koi pun hadir dalam acara tersebut. Selain cantik dan memiliki corak yang unik dan beragam, ikan koi juga dianggap sebagai penghilang stres saat melihatnya berenang di air ke sana kemari.

“Melihat ikan koi bisa menghilangkan stres juga,” kata salah satu penggemar ikan koi Harry Nugroho yang juga Ketua Tangerang Koi Club. Harry memiliki peternakan koi di rumahnya. Ia juga meneliti tentang koi hingga dalam acara ini ia turut menjadi pembicara talk show bertema “Budidaya Koi di Halaman Rumah Kita”. Menurut Harry, kualitas air sangat penting dalam perawatan koi sehingga ikan tersebut dapat hidup selama puluhan tahun.

Article source: http://serpong.kompas.com/berita/detail/1798/Ratusan.Koi.Cantik.Hiasi.Telaga.Seafood

By Dr Amjad Parvez

Aik Tha Badsahah
By Nauman Manzoor
Bayaz Group of Publications, Lahore;
Pp 183; Rs 200

The book titled ‘Aik Tha Badsha’ (Once There Was A King) by Nauman Manzoor is a record of the author’s personal devotion to late Ahmad Nadim Qasmi, a poet and writer of repute. Right from his youth to his adulthood, it encompasses the respect the author had for Qasmi after meeting him a number of times, and for his disciples. The book has been printed by Bayaz Group of Publications that also publishes a monthly literary magazine namely Bayaz. Speaking of Qasmi’s admirers, Khalid Ahmad writes, “Koi fun, koi paeraya, terey shahyan nahin paya/ Tujhey main nei chuoa, laikin buhut muhtaat nazron se.” (I did not find anybody of your stature and I touched you with cautious eyes). Abbas Tabish says Merey badshah teri khair ho/ Teri shehnashineen kei daur main/ Merey dast-e-lab peh duaein hain (My King, may you live long, I have prayers for the era of your Kingdom). Qasmi prays to the Almighty to dye him in the same colour as that of Him through his poem Mujhey Rang Dey.
The book starts with famous naats, ghazals and poems of Qasmi with his photographs. Khalid Ahmad in his submission titled Kaar-e-Muhabbat (an act of love) says that our children grow under our surveillance but in the process, we fail to address some main social problems encountered by them. Manzoor has written the book about what he learnt from the wisdom of his elders as he grew with them. Qasmi’s daughter Dr Nahid Qasmi in her submission titled Muhabaton main hadain nahin hotei (There are no limits in love) says that the book under review is a true picture of Manzoor’s feelings. She also observes that the initial pages keep the interest of the readers alive because of knitting of stories and incidents together, but in the latter part of the book, this continuity suffers because of some advice given to Manzoor by his well wishers that he had to take out some 150 pages. She adds that same thing was done to Daya Shankar Nasim’s Masanavi. Manzoor, however, contends that it was after Mansoora Ahmad’s (his sister) death in 2009, what she had discussed with his brother and that some things could not have been written now.
The first chapter gives details of Manzoor’s first meeting with Qasmi. He proudly informed his matriculation fellow students of this honour. When asked to be shown his autograph, he felt sheepish and decided to collect money to purchase an autograph book. In the second chapter, Manzoor gives details of his first visit to Qasmi’s place without his brother in law, Khalid Ahmad. Abdullah, Akhtar, Ijaz Rizvi, Younus Butt and Arif Mahmud were present there (Page 37). In this meeting, Nadim appreciates the sense of analysing poetry of others, in this case of Qamar Yurish.
In the next chapter, Manzoor gives details of Qasmi’s personal and intellectual works. His actual name was Ahmad Shah and was born on November 20, 1916. His education to primary level was in Anga, middle from Campbellpur, matriculation from Sheikhupura, and graduation from Sadiq Edgerton College, Bahawalpur. His first poem appeared in Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar’s magazine Siasat and first short story in magazine Rumaan. Further, details of various assignments Qasmi carried out and a list of his works is given. They comprise of collection of short stories (15, from 1940 to 1995); poetry books (11, from 1941 to 2006); criticism (five, from 1974 to 2003); sketches (two, in 2006); poetry (five); children books (two); various books (five). There is a record of his imprisonments (two, May 1951 to November 1951, October 1958 to 1959 under the Safety Act) and honours bestowed upon him, the last one being Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1999.
The next chapter gives details of various visitors at Qasmi’s magazine Funoon’s office, located opposite Bible Society, Anarkali. Those comprised of Najib Ahmad, Ashraf Javed, Akhtar Hussain Jafri, Mansoora Ahmad, Zia Butt, Abdullah Qureshi, Amjad Islam and Atta ul Haq Qasmi. In Bahawalpur, Qasmi had made friends with Muhammad Khalid Akhtar and used to recite his poems in a group called ‘Soldiers’ (page 54). In Lahore, he befriended Akhtar Shirani. Qasmi dedicated his first book published by Dar-ul-Isha, titled Chopaal to Muhammad Khalid Akhtar. When Qasmi’s literary journal Funoon was launched, he asked Muhammad Kazim to write for him. Funoon’s second office was located in Anarkali again, opposite Bombay Cloth House.
The next chapter mentions the poem presented by Akhtar Hussain Jafri to Qasmi that was read to all present. Manzoor feels that Qasmi brought writers and poets close to each other by sharing their works. He used to encourage newcomers too (Page 73). Manzoor talks about Qasmi encouraging Habib Jalib to recite his poem Dastoor in Multan’s Colony Textile Mills Mushaira (Page 83).
On page 92, Manzoor touches upon the jealousy factor present in Mansoora Ahmad, the adopted daughter of Qasmi, for Khalid Ahmad, though this impression was subsequently removed (Page 114). He also mentions the funny incident when Asghar Nadim Syed sent a poem stating that it was that of Naushaba Nargis, when it was actually not. When caught, Asghar had to take the brunt of both Qasmi and Naushaba’s ire. The ensuing hundred odd pages give many anecdotes of Qasmi and his disciples/friends as Manzoor grew up, joined college and kept on visiting the office of Funoon regularly. He would often remember couplets of his king’s poetry like ‘Yaad aaei terey paikar kei khutoot/ Apni kotahi-e-fun yaad aai’ (When I remembered the lines of your face, I felt my deficiency of expression). Qasmi used to contact many good poets asking for their poetical contributions. For example, he asked for one from Khurshid Rizvi when he was on deputation to Islamic University, Islamabad (page 111).
This reviewer would go on and on with many interesting stories as narrated by Nauman Manzoor but the space of this review does not allow it.

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Article source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C05%5C19%5Cstory_19-5-2012_pg9_8

Matsuba Koi are strange looking fish, some of which have almost human like face. The word ‘Matsuba Koi’ is Japanese and ‘Matsuba’ means pine needles and ‘Koi’ is a type of carp fish. Matsuba Koi have metallic looking scales with a black accenting that can make the body of these Koi look similar to pine cones.

These fish are not some kind of strange human-fish hybrids or anything like that, they are just regular Koi, although some of them do have markings that make their faces look slightly human like and sometimes a bit creepy.

Koi are strong, active fish that often times are pictured as swimming upstream, against the current, as a way to represent perseverance and strength. In Japanese mythology, Koi that are successful in swimming upstream to their destination are rewarded by being transformed into dragons.

Characteristics

Matsuba Koi have a shiny body without any spot type markings. They are solid, metallic-coloured Koi with a black netting or ‘pine cone’ pattern on the body. These Matsuba Koi fish come in mainly three different colours like red, golden and white but the black pine cone pattern remains consistent among all Matsuba, the Aka Matsuba being red, the Kin Matsuba being golden, and the Gin Matsuba being white. The Aka Matsuba being the oldest and that grows to be quite large.

The pine cone pattern on the body of Matsuba is created by scales with dark centres, and edges that display the base or body colour. The pattern should repeat uniformly as it spreads back towards the tail.

Matsuba usually have a clean, blemish-free head that is the same colour and tone as the body. Having a human like face is not a specified characteristic of the Matsuba Koi. Not all of them have faces that appear human. For the ones that do, what may appear to be eyes in the front of the face of the fish are actually nostrils. The eyes are on the side of their head, not in the front.

Male Matsuba are easily recognised by their concave anal section and occasionally by breeding spots on the head. Females lay as many as 1,000 eggs, with fry emerging in approximately four to seven days.

Size

Matsuba Koi grow up to two to four feet in length and weight up to around 15 kg.

Feeding Habits

Matsuba Koi are omnivorous fish, which means they will eat both meat and plants. They will eat just about anything including earthworms and tadpoles.

Habitat

Matsuba Koi can be found in Japanese ponds.

Lifespan

The typical life span of Matsuba Koi is 25 to 35 years.

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Article source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=animal+stories&NewsID=332554

Lees voor

Koi karpers bij Viva Aquaria

18-05-2012 19:00
0 reacties

AALSMEER – Stephan Koster, vijverspecialist en dan vooral de koi karpers, geeft maandag 21 mei een lezing bij Viva Aquaria. Het onderwerp is een nieuw meetapparaat genaamd Seneye en hij vertelt een en ander over de bijzondere wereld van de koi karper.
Seneye meet onder andere de ph, ammoniak, temperatuur en hoeveelheid licht en kan dit per mms doorgeven als de waarden te veel afwijken.

De bijeenkomst is in Buurthuis Hormeer, Roerdomplaan 3 te Aalsmeer en begint om 20 uur. De toegang is gratis. Voor meer informatie over Viva Aquaria: de heer C. Keim, (0297) 34 38 54.

Article source: http://www.hoofddorpsecourant.nl/lokaal/koi_karpers_bij_viva_aquaria_27601199.html

Wir erinnern Sie gerne an Ihre Lieblingssendung per E-Mail. Wenn Sie unseren Erinnerungsservice nutzen möchten, klicken Sie auf “Merken und Erinnern” im Kopf der Seite.

Article source: http://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/epg/epg1157_sid-1171868.html

By Chandni Tanna
Friday, May 18, 2012
2:56 PM

RESIDENTS are being asked to keep their eyes open after two rare snakes were stolen from The Japanese Koi Company.

Albino Royal Python (Python regius)

The snakes were discovered missing this morning (Friday) from the Henlow based pet shop by the reptiles’ sales representative whilst doing a routine maintenance clean up.

Mick Brady-Emery, project manager for The Japanese Koi Company, said: “The snakes are kept in a locked glass tank so someone has obviously lifted the lid and taken them. The snakes are harmless but can bite. These snakes are both unusual and very individual and they need to be kept in a heated environment.”

One of the snakes is a Piedbald Royal Python (python requis) valued at £1499.99 the other is an Albino Royal Python (python regius) valued at £699.99. Both snakes feast on defrosted rodents varying in size.

The pet store is offering a reward of £5000 if it leads to a conviction. If you have any information please contact Mick Brady-Emery on 01462 850822. Alternatively call Bedfordshire police on 101 citing crime reference number JD17342-2012.

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Article source: http://www.thecomet.net/news/rare_snakes_stolen_from_pet_shop_in_henlow_1_1382167

Posted on 3:43 am, Friday, May 18, 2012. Tags: hilo, kalakaua park, uh-hilo, War Memorial Pond

Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

By Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

After about a month of being cared for by UH-Hilo aquaculture staff and students the koi from War Memorial Pond at Kalakaua Park were brought back to a much cleaner home Thursday (May 17).

The 50,000 gallon pond was built in 1948 as a memorial for service members killed during World War II and also has plaques to recognize Korean and Vietnam War veterans who gave their lives.

The pond sits on the makai side of Kalakaua Park in downtown Hilo and had not been cleaned out for 23 years resulting in silt building up so high on the Waianuenue Avenue end that it reached the level of the water’s surface. The murky pond was overdue for a cleaning so the University of Hawaii Center for Sustainable Aquaculture stepped in to help catch and hold the koi, tilapia, Jack Dempsey fish and barbs while the Big Island Watergarden Club took care of the water lilies for the pond.

Crews from the county, BB Pumping, GW Construction used a bobcat along with manpower to remove what was described as a ‘soup’ of silt, organic matter, broken glass, trash and other items. The State Department of Health worked with the county’s Department of Environmental Management to dispose of the material removed. Crews and volunteers cleaned the pond, repaired a few things, refilled it with water, and tested the water quality before bringing the fish back home.

The 18 Koi are the first of the fish to be returned to the pond. Other fish will be returned later. The pond renovation will be formally dedicated and blessed in June.

You might be interested in:

1. Aloha Saturdays at Kalakaua Park (March 20)
2. Remembering the fallen: Memorial Day in East Hawaii
3. Big Island Auto Club – Memorial Day Drags in Hilo
4. Video shows movement in Halemaumau Crater lava pond
5. Volcano Watch Halemaumau’s fickle lava pond unusually steady

Article source: http://www.hawaii247.com/2012/05/18/county-koi-come-home-to-war-memorial-pond-at-kalakaua-park/

TSSAA Tennis State Tournament brackets have been set for singles and doubles play.

Those competitions begin Thursday at Old Fort in Murfreesboro. Finals will be held Friday.

CAK eighth-grader Koi Royal could be one to watch. He won the Region 2-A/AA singles championship. Greeneville freshman Jaspal Mahal also is in the field.

Stone Memorial sophomore Ali Harris, the Region 2-A/AA girls’ singles champion, is the lone area player in her bracket.

CAK’s Barbara Smith and Haleigh Chastain — Region 2-A/AA doubles winners — made the lineup in Class A/AA.

Pigeon Forge’s Garrett Byrd and Alex Delozier make their state debut in A/AA doubles.

In Class AAA, defending state boys’ doubles champions Steven Patrick and Harrison Smith of West begin their defense at 9 a.m.

Maryville sophomore Payton Robinette, a girls’ singles semifinalist last year, returns. So does the Catholic doubles team of Katie McCarty and Emily Holloway, who were semifinalists a year ago.

Hardin Valley’s Daniel Hardesty, the Region 2-AAA champion, makes his first state appearance.

In Division II-A, Webb’s Diana Grandas and Anna Catharine Feaster are in the singles bracket. Rajat Agarwal and Justin Fowler will be in the boys’ singles.

Vicky Garcia/Jeannine Bell and Divya Agarwal/Kathryn Evans are in the girls’ doubles bracket.

Connor Cox/Gabi Dagotto and Brian Carman/Lorenzo Rollhauser will vie for the boys’ doubles championship.

Team sectionals are still being decided, though the Webb boys’ tennis team has qualified. Harding Academy forfeited its sectional match against the Spartans.

Article source: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/17/singles-doubles-brackets-for-state-tennis-set/

Anne Lindsay was born in Scotland in December 1750. She moved to London, where she met and married Andrew Barnard in 1793, 12 years her junior. Lady Anne Barnard obtained an appointment for her husband from Henry Dundas, who would later be made the first Viscount Melville, as colonial secretary in Cape Town at the Cape of Good Hope to Lord McCartney. The Barnards travelled there in March 1797.

On May 5 1798, accompanied by wagons and eight horses, the Barnards set off on a month’s leave into the wilds of Swellendam. It took them five hours over the sandy Cape Flats to reach Meerlust, near Fourie, the farm of Mynheer Myburgh, and a further four hours to De Bos, the farm of Captain Morkel. Here the party spent the night.

The following morning, after an hour’s travel, they reached the foot of the Hottentots Holland mountains. A team of badly abused oxen took the wagon over the mountains along the tracks left by other travellers. The tracks led through the Steenbras and Palmiet rivers to the site of the Houw Hoek Inn at the foot of the Houw Hoek mountains, where a Dutch East Indian Company tollgate had been erected.

The party spent the night on the farm Arieskraal, at the house of Arie Jacob Joubert and his Dutch wife. They shared their evening meal and had “boiled chicken fit for an emperor!” This was the humble beginnings of the Houw Hoek Inn.

Over the years, the Houw Hoek Inn remained a favourite overnight stop and watering hole. The existing ground floor was erected in 1779, no doubt with slave labour as slaves were only emancipated in 1833. The inn was situated on the High Road to Grahamstown, which became of crucial importance from 1820 when the British settlers arrived on the Eastern Frontier.

The “new” Sir Lowry’s Pass was opened in 1830, built at a cost of £7011 by Major Mitchell. Houw Hoek Pass was also upgraded. Travel was sped up and the inn had to compete with Somerset West Village – 100 souls and six canteens. The inn was licensed in 1834, making it the oldest licensed inn in South Africa.

The upper storey was added in 1860, and in 1861 Lady Duff Gordon slept there en route to the Caledon Spa. The proprietor then, and at least since 1848, was an ex-missionary, Mr Beyers. Their visit is detailed in the following extract from Letters from the Cape by Lady Duff Gordon, published in 1864:

“We got to Houw Hoek, a pretty valley at the entrance of a mountain gorge, about half past five and drove up to a mud cottage, half inn, half farm, kept by a German and his wife. It looked mightily queer but Choslullah (the coachman) said that the host was a good old man, and all clean – no louses! So we cheered up and asked for food. While the neat old woman was cooking it, up galloped five fine lads and two pretty flaxen-haired girls, with real German faces, on wild little horses; and one girl tucked up her habit, and waited at the table, while another waved a green bough to drive off the swarms of flies. The chops were excellent, ditto bread and butter, and the tea tolerable. The parlour was a tiny room with a mud floor, half-thatch door into the front, and the two bedrooms still tinier and darker, each with two huge beds which filled them entirely. But Choslullah was right; they were perfectly clean, with heaps of beautiful pillows: and not only had none of the creatures of which he had spoken with infinite terror, but not even fleas! The man was delighted to talk to me. His wife had almost forgotten German, and the children didn’t know a word of it, but spoke Dutch and English. A fine, healthy, happy family. It was a pretty picture of emigrant life. Cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry and pigeons innumerable, all picked up their own living and cost nothing; and vegetables and fruit grown in rank abundance where there is water. I asked for a book in the evening, and the man gave me a volume of Schiffer. A good breakfast and we paid nine pence for all.”

In 1848, Mrs Beyers gave birth to a daughter, Maria Gertrude, and Mr Beyers planted a bluegum tree to commemorate the birth. The tree is now 11,2m in circumference and still guards the entrance to the inn.

Maria Beyers married a Scotsman, Walter McFarlane III, who became co-owner of the inn. He later started the hotel business in Hermanus. His grandson, Valentine McFarlane, still lives in Stanford, bright as a button at 85.

There is the story of a young lad who, on his way abroad, left his visiting card, a bank note, on the ceiling in the bar so that on his return – possibly broke – he could again enjoy the delights of the cellar. Others followed his example and there is now an impressive collection behind glass.

In 1902, the railway to Caledon was opened. The train stopped briefly at the Houw Hoek Inn and meals were served to the passengers on the platform. It is a well-known fact that the inn’s owners made handsome profits by serving the soup so hot that diners could not finish their meal in time for the train’s departure.

Various owners made changes to the inn, such as converting the old stables into “The Barn”, a conference centre.

Several of the staff have been there for many years. Barman Wallis Shumba is a marvellous source of information – he has been listening to and regaling others with tales for 17 years. The receptionist was conceived in room 11, since demolished.

Henry the ghost has been around Houw Hoek Inn for the past 40 years and has been seen many times downstairs around reception; in rooms three and four, which are now used as store rooms; and in the passage on the first floor. He has given several night-duty porters a few frights.

Strange things happened in the early days. At night, the sound of footsteps and doors opening were heard coming from the first floor although no one was booked into these rooms. Later, when telephones were installed in the rooms, a call would come in from one of the rooms upstairs or the telephone would ring in the room with no calls going through the switchboard.

When TVs were introduced, they would switch on and off on their own.

The last person to have seen Henry the ghost was Ronnie, the manager between 1988 and 1992, who died about 10 years ago. Henry was seen in the passage upstairs. Another story goes that, in the late ’70s, a lady sitting in the lounge started sketching a man standing close to her – then the man vanished. When the drawing was shown to the owner’s wife, Mrs McEntyre, she immediately recognised farmer Henry, a regular who had killed himself on his way home from the inn one night.

The last event is recalled by Sakhumzi “Sakkie” Ndondo, who still works at the inn as a waiter. About six years ago, it was his first night duty. He locked the back door to the verandah and went and sat by the fire in the lounge. He heard a door opening and footsteps on the wooden staircase. On investigating, he found the back door wide open!

About three months later, he was on duty. He walked out of reception to the bar next to the staircase. The lights in the staircase and the passage upstairs went off. As the only light-switch was upstairs, he went up to investigate and switched the lights on again.

On hearing noises coming from one of the rooms – which was not occupied – he went to look. As he walked down the passage, the lights in the communal bathroom went on and off again. Upon reaching the room where the noises were coming from he found the door open and the TV and lights on. He switched off the lights and the TV, and the passage lights went off. Poor Sakkie was so scared he ran outside to the parking lot to wait for morning. That was his last night duty!

The bar used to have one big brass bell that hung from the old wooden creaky ceiling. Above it was room three, the honeymoon suite. When the bell rang, all patrons in the bar would clap and cheer.

History, ghosts and beautiful scenery – a visit to the inn will have you transported back to the 18th century, to the whisperings of visitors, the laughter and clinking of glasses in times gone by. Not only that, but today’s inn has lovely bedrooms with great cuisine, wonderful staff and lives beyond its three-star grading, nestling in the heart of the Kogelberg Biosphere, 90km from Cape Town on the N2.

• www.houwhoekinn.co.za

Article source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/travel/2012/05/17/classic-hotels-of-south-africa-houw-hoek-inn-holds-steady

What is wrong with limiting frivolous uses of water during a drought? During the area’s last drought, the Tampa Bay Times ran a story about a Swiftmud official receiving a question from someone with a backyard pond stocked with koi, the colorful Japanese carp. The pond’s fountain is keeping the fish alive, the owner said. Will Swiftmud save water by killing koi? The Swiftmud official said that, so far, no answer had surfaced.

Water restrictions force bureaucrats to spend time fielding questions about lawns, birdbaths, and the life and death of koi. Many more person-hours and budget dollars are used to educate consumers, enforce new rules and punish cheaters. All the effort spent engaging in such matters comes at a high cost for the Tampa Bay area.

It doesn’t have to be this hard. The price mechanism does a fine job of allocating scarce resources. The markets for economics professors and tomatoes operate efficiently by allocating resources to the individuals willing to pay the highest price. Allowing the market to allocate the supply of water in Tampa Bay would work, too — if we let it.

A 2005 Swiftmud study found that water use will decrease as the price of water increases. Thus, we do not need to resort to inefficient bureaucratic mechanisms to allocate water. A better pricing system will give consumers the freedom to decide on the life or death of their koi or on the greenness of their lawns. Along the way, Tampa Bay Water can increase its coffers by charging heavy users higher prices.

The city of Tampa uses a tiered system in which the per-gallon rate increases with higher water usage. Currently, it costs $10.45 a month for the first 3,740 gallons of water. This lowest-rate tier is a proxy for the necessary indoor water use of a typical household — cooking, bathing, laundry and flushing toilets. Outdoor water use, however, varies greatly across households and includes irrigating lawns, filling swimming pools, and supporting koi ponds. We offer a relatively simple proposal: In times of drought, Tampa Bay Water should sharply raise the price of water for volumes above the lowest tier.

While our proposal increases the price of using a gallon of water, customers would have the opportunity to conserve to avoid higher bills. If a customer used less than 3,740 gallons per month, his bill would not increase. Customers have the freedom to decide how to conserve water. A customer might decide to install a water-saving shower head rather than be forced to switch off the life support for koi. From a communitywide perspective, a gallon of water saved is a gallon of water saved.

Consumers are sensitive to water rates, so water use will diminish if upper-tier rates are increased. However, the Swiftmud study found that very wealthy users are less sensitive to price changes. They can afford to maintain their lush landscapes and run their fountains. A higher water bill would be a minor part of their monthly expenses. Thus, we should not expect significant usage reductions from this group. Even if these folks choose not to conserve water, they will provide extra revenue to Tampa Bay Water, which it might use to fund the repair of the cracked reservoir.

How would the poorest households be affected? The Swiftmud study reports that lower-income households have a limited ability to reduce water consumption when faced with higher prices because they are mostly indoor water users satisfying basic needs. By not changing the price of water in the lowest tier, the area’s poorest households would not be impacted by increased upper-tier water prices.

Rather than prohibit specific uses of water for all households, we suggest that in times of drought, water authorities temporarily institute a significant increase in upper-tier water rates. This proposal avoids an undue burden on the poor while encouraging water conservation among outdoor water users. Expensive water encourages consumers to choose how to conserve. And it is more efficient than having bureaucrats perform the impossible task of deciding what types of water use should be restricted and whether the koi shall live or die.

Robert L. Beekman is an assistant professor of economics and coordinator of the international business program at the University of Tampa. Before working at UT, Beekman was an economist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Brian T. Kench is an associate professor of economics, editor of “The Tampa Bay Economy,” and chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Tampa.

Article source: http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/tampa-bay-water-solution-simple-charge-heavy-users-more/1230448