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Here comes the rain — and the sprinklers?

Posted by: Maven on May 6, 2009 at 7:56 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

It’s a classic urban outrage: In a rare spring rain, your neighbor’s lawn sprinklers are flooding the gutter and sidewalk, wasting a precious resource. This scenario has been too common in recent days as Northern California enjoys a series of May showers that have helped, but are nowhere near enough to get California out of a third-straight drought year.

In many neighborhoods, sprinklers have been in bloom during or right after our recent storms, when water piped to those yards – at great cost to the environment and the ratepayer – is least needed by the landscaping. And there’s a chance of rain again today, meaning more sprinklers will probably be running willy-nilly.

“It concerns me in that it just seems ridiculous,” said Theresa Sugden, who has witnessed sprinklers working in the rain at state buildings near her home on Broadway, east of Stockton Boulevard, in Sacramento. “Water out of the sky works just as well as water out of the sprinkler,” she said.

The article then goes on to discuss smart irrigation controllers, which is one way to solve the problem. Here’s another way: Water districts could sign people up for email alerts, and then the district (or whomever) emails residents the day before rain is due, reminding them to turn off their sprinklers. I think Long Beach Water Department does this; probably others. I believe people will do the right thing, especially when you make it easy for them.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

May 6, 2009 · Filed Under Conservation

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