Watering woes

While the Truckee Meadows Water Authority has a twice-a-week watering policy, some apartment complexes are ignoring the law. Spokesmen from TMWA say that seven apartment complexes in Sparks, and even more in Reno, are under investigation for breaking water laws.

Though TMWA representatives wouldn’t name the possible offenders, the violations being investigated include complexes reported to be watering more than twice a week and watering between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., hours prohibited by the TMWA.

According to the TMWA, apartments, just like any other home or business can water twice per week. Variances allow the businesses to water more than twice per week, but no more than twice per week on any specific area. This allows large apartment complexes that find it difficult to water their entire land in one day a chance to keep the grass green and still comply with water regulations.

But even variances are getting harder to obtain, TMWA water conservation coordinator Neecie Schlesener says.

“They are still only allowed to water an area two days a week,” Schlesener says. “The reason we give variances is the way [the apartment’s] sprinklers are, they don’t have enough time to water on one day. What we usually do is require they get them fixed for next year. Unless they are planting new sod. Then we’ll give them six to eight weeks.”

All-you-can-water buffetPart of the problem, Schlesener says, is that many apartments are on a flat rate because they are older and don’t have water meters installed. Therefore, the apartments can run as much water as they want without fearing a huge water bill at the end of the month. According to the TMWA, water users on the flat- rate system used an average of 320,000 gallons of water last year, while metered customers used only 175,000 gallons last year—about 45 percent less than flat-rate customers.

Since 1989, all new homes have been equipped with water meters. In a recent policy change, the TMWA will now retrofit all homes that were previously billed a flat rate if they change ownership. Only about half of all homes in the Truckee Meadows are on meters.

With 68 percent of the water in the region used by residential customers (commercial uses 22 percent and agricultural 7 percent), the water authority tries to combat violations by sending people out into the field looking for problems. The TMWA, which oversees water use for Reno, Sparks and parts of Washoe County, has four people averaging seven hours a day looking for residential and commercial water use violations.

The water authority often relies on those concerned about water use to report misuse of the water, but it isn’t a foolproof system and many get away. Those who see water violations are encouraged to call 834-8005.

But the TMWA often finds it more effective to educate water violators, instead of fining them.

“If they see something they will stop and educate the person as to the proper days and times they should be watering,” TMWA’s Andy Gebhardt says. “It might just be a simple matter of adjusting a sprinkler head [or] adjusting a time clock."Sparks Mayor and TMWA Chairman Tony Armstrong says that water conservation through the twice-a-week program has already saved the Reno/Sparks area a lot of money.

“Because of the success of twice-weekly watering, the community has already been able to postpone building new, larger, costly treatment facilities,” Armstrong wrote in a recent “Your Turn” column in the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Can you say xeriscape?Along with penalties and education, the TMWA also encourages water users to change their landscaping and personal habits as a way of conserving water. Xeriscaping is a common practice that allows for a beautiful landscape while preserving water.

Many apartment complexes opt for large lawns and non-native trees as opposed to xeriscaping, or planting of native or drought-resistant plants for conservation means. Xeriscaping helps reduce water use, which is especially important in desert climates. But many apartment complexes cannot or will not invest tens of thousands of dollars to change their landscaping to more environmentally conscious plants.

The TMWA says that watering lawn areas every day is actually more harmful to the lawns than less watering. Heavy watering encourages a shallow, weak root system because the plants don’t have to work to get water. Excessive watering can result in molds growing on the lawn, causing a dried-out looking patch. Increased watering can make the mold even worse, even though the grass looks dry.

The TMWA also advises watering in 15-minute intervals, just long enough so puddles start forming on the lawn, then moving the water to a different location and coming back to the other location later in the day. This allows the water to seep deeper into the ground and not flood an area where water is lost through evaporation.