Water dept.; going dry.(The Talk of the Town)

Publication: The New Yorker

Publication Date: 18-MAR-02

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COPYRIGHT 2002 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.

Another week without rain, more pictures of reservoirs at low tide. New York is facing a summer of brown lawns, short showers, dirty cars, and guilty flushes, amid predictions that even a regular storm diet may not be enough to stave off drought. What is to be done?

In 1964, during the city's worst drought to date, Gold Medal Books published a paperback novel entitled "The Day New York Went Dry," by Charles Einstein. "It's 1967 in New York, and if you want a drink of water -- get out of town," the cover copy read. "Don't wash your sidewalk. Don't wash your car. In fact, don't wash yourself. Why not? It's the law."

In the book, which deals with civil-rights as well as water...

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