City to consider new watering schedule

Carson City is considering additional outside watering restrictions to begin next year, giving homeowners only three days a week to turn on sprinklers.

The schedule would set aside Monday as a "day of rest" to give the city enough time to refill water tanks and do maintenance and repairs. Currently, the city only has two days of rest during the summer, and has run dangerously low on supplies to fight fires.

"We need to do something to help and maintain fire supplies. That is the main thrust of this change," said Public Works Operations Manager Tom Hoffert.

Residents have used the same summer watering schedule for years, with watering on odd or even days according to addresses. No watering is allowed on the 31st day of July and August.

The proposed restrictions would mirror the Monday-off schedule used by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority in Reno. The changes would go into effect June 1, 2005.

Residents are asked to begin voluntarily using the new schedule until the end of this summer.

With a day of rest, the city could store up to 5 million extra gallons a week. Automatic sprinkler systems would also be easier to program, Hoffert said.

Residents who install new lawns will be allowed an exemption of 21 days if the sod is planted between June 1 to Oct. 1.

Lawns, trees and plants can easily survive fewer days of watering as long as people water properly, said JoAnne Skelly, educator with the University of Nevada, Reno, Cooperative Extension office.

"Three-day-a-week watering should be fine," Skelly said. "It will be a little harder on sandy soils than on clay soils."

Skelly suggests homeowners water 13Ú4 to 2 inches per week this time of year. But on some lawns with a slope or clay soil, water runs off if it is watered for two hours.

In its sixth year of drought, the city experienced a water crisis in June when two wells were taken off-line for repairs. About 1,000 westside residents were asked to stop watering outside for three days until supplies could be replenished.

Supplies are keeping up with demand, and all wells are operating, Hoffert said.

"If water usage stays the same as it has been last week, we should be able to meet that demand through the rest of the summer," Hoffert said. "Right now, it takes all our booster pumps and all wells running every day to continue to meet demands and replenish storage tanks daily. We can't afford equipment failures."

The city plans to keep motors and pumps in stock for repairs, and is working on a water conservation education plan.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.