A’s exec Billy Beane among top East Bay water consumers

Billy Beane, the acclaimed front office executive of the notoriously frugal Athletics franchise, has been hit with a penalty for excessive water intake at his Bay Area property during California’s summer drought crisis.

A September report from the East Bay Municipal Utility District shows Beane, who was the subject of the Oscar-nominated film “Moneyball”, used about 6,000 gallons of water daily.

The usage is six times the limit EBMUD has set, making him the district’s third biggest water waster.

The top two water users on the list were former Chevron Vice Chairman George Kirkland of Danville, who has been guzzling 12,578 gallons a day, followed by venture capitalist Mark Pine of Alamo, who has been sucking up 8,090 gallons a day.

He told the San Jose Mercury News that he had a leaky water line that needed to be fixed. “I certainly pay for it”, he said.

“I didn’t realize I had a leak until I got the water bill”, said Kirkland, who irrigates his vineyard with drip irrigation. A few people, however, don’t take seriously their responsibilities as a member of a community in a drought, and are flouting the statewide effort to reduce water.

The district released the names and consumption in response to a public records request by this newspaper and other media outlets covering the drought.

As annoying as they may be, the water restrictions are working. The district has exceeded those targets, saving as much as 30 percent in a few months.

The list of 1,108 names is not complete, according to Abby Figueroa, district spokeswoman, including only about a third of the district’s residential custormers. More names are expected to be released later this year.