Some object to water limits; Other residents support mandatory restrictions in Maryland counties [Correction 8/4/10]

Free-flowing clean water is one of the lesser expectations ofWashington area suburban living, so it came as an uncomfortablesurprise to Terry Walsh that the hose-down he was giving histomatoes, peppers and chard late Thursday in Rockville could landhim a $500 fine.

"Oh [expletive]!" Walsh said. "Yeah, that makes the tomatoesexpensive."

So it went as official word of mandatory water restrictions shotthrough the airwaves and over the Web, but it didn't always reachthe target audience in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Psychotherapist Jeanine Lamb turned on a sprinkler in the fadingafternoon sun to drench her 20-by-25-foot gazpacho garden, one of178 community plots at Woottons Mill Park. She said she had beenthankful for a day away from TV, radio and the Internet, and she hadheard nothing about the limits, which call for no outside wateringand shorter showers.

Lamb immediately went for the spigot down the fence from thebasil, Roma tomatoes and crookneck squash she and her 4-year-olddaughter planted in the spring. "Oh no, let me go turn it off beforewe talk," she said.

Walsh said he had heard something about water limits in a teaserto a radio spot, but he didn't hear the details. He'll comply withthe rules, he said. With Thursday's dousing, it should be fine forhis park garden plot to miss its every-other-day watering regimen.Walsh has a low-flow toilet and washing machine at home inKensington, and he said he plans to cut usage there, too.

"You don't miss your water until the well runs dry," Walsh said."You can probably write a blues song out of that."

Not everyone submitted to the will of the water authorities.Officials warned that the limits, which they hope will last fourdays, are necessary to make sure supplies are sufficient andaccessible for any major fire emergencies in the area.

"Four days? I'll probably water well now, and slack off . . . andabide by the regulations" later, said a Rockville area resident whoworks as a landscaper. He declined to give his name, then went backto watering his melons and zucchini.

For those who live downstream from the suspect 96-inch watermain, there was appreciation for officials' actions and theirneighbors' willingness to accept some inconvenience.

"In this country, it's always like some people have issues ifthey do something, and if they didn't do it, some people would haveissues," said James Lajko, an engineer who's originally from Hungaryand lives three doors down from the stretch of pipe that spurredconcerns. "I think, what you can fix today, fix it."

larism@washpost.com