Liquid Gold

No place in bleached and bare California has been harder hit by the two-year drought than Marin County. Strict rationing has been imposed, with water priced as high as $50 per 100 cu. ft. for those who exceed their allotments. The first bills under the new plan arrived last week, and some of them made a splash.

By cutting showers down to one a week, restricting toilet flushing, and doing laundry by hand, most residential users are able to live within the restrictions. But commercial establishments took a bath. Ondine's, an internationally known French restaurant in Sausalito, got a two-month water bill for $645 --doubly galling since one of its attractions is its waterfront location. But that was nothing compared with a hotel that owed $4,153 and an ice cream parlor billed at $2,400.

Sausalito's mayor, Sally Stanford, is especially hot about the problem. Her restaurant, Valhalla, owes $1,300.

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