Water Restriction Must Be Over For City of University Park. Or Something Like That.
A rule-following Overheardian with a Rolex wants to know more about the water restrictions.
Walking today in Caruth Park a friend and I noticed that the sprinklers were on. Don’t they have the same watering restrictions as the residents? Please don’t use my name!
Um, hmmm. The water restriction must be over?
I’ve often wondered about “others” water restrictions as over the last 2 summers I’ve seen the GIANT sprinklers watering the SMU fields and DCC and some of the UP median strips during the heat of the day in the middle of the summer.
It sees unfair that they can run those mega-consuming sprinklers and I can’t run my tiny low pressure system on just my flowers to keep them from croaking.
I actually called HPPD last year and reported DCC’s unlawful daytime usage, but didn’t notice it written up in the Police Blotter. Like anything was done…
Merritt,
Here is some background on City procedures. I hope my explanation alleviates resident concerns.
The City has more than 80 irrigated systems. Each spring, prior to the really hot weather, the City tests all its systems (all stations) for 3-5 minutes to check for leaks and for sprinkler heads that aren’t rotating properly. These checks are performed during the workday when staff is on duty. This effort is aimed at conserving water, not wasting it.
Additionaly, during the spring, the City places a high nitrogen fertilzer on many of its grass surfaces (parks). While the City’s sprinkler are set to water overnight or early in the morning, it is sometimes necessary for staff to obsereve the effectiveness of such efforts.
Homeowners should note, for similar reasons, the Ordinance does allow daytime watering by automatic systems for lawns that have been re-seeded or just installed.
The DCC does not use city water for the fairways, they have a separate system that uses creek water. They do use city water for the greens only as the creek water would damage the greens. This may allow them to fall under a different set of rules as the creek water seems to be too polluted for some uses.
Snazzy watch!
“Additionaly, during the spring, the City places a high nitrogen fertilzer on many of its grass surfaces (parks).”
Glad to know the city of University Park is doing its part to contribute to the environmental disaster caused by nitrogen rich fertilizers.