The town council of Springhill recently refused to raise the threshold. The Springhill authorities do a poor job of enforcing its water emergency laws and many people break the laws without incurring a penalty. The threshold remains at the predetermined level specified by law until a change is approved by the Springhill town council. The threshold is kept at a high enough level to exceed the water requirements of most households in Springhill.
The town of Springhill frequently must declare a water emergency, making it temporarily unlawful to use water for such nonessential purposes as car washing. These emergencies could be avoided if Springhill would introduce permanent economic incentives for water conservation. Actually, Springhill discourages conservation because each household pays a modest monthly flat fee for any amount of water below a certain usage threshold, and a substantial per-liter rate only after the threshold is reached.
Which one the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?