Tips flood in, hanging water wasters out to dry
Judging from tips to this newspaper, there’s quite a bit of water waste going on in the Bay Area.
From residents hosing down driveways to homes sporting gurgling fountains, from badly aimed sprinklers to leaking municipal pipes and fire hydrants, Chronicle readers haven’t been shy about sharing what they see as bad behavior during the drought.
One Berkeley woman reported her neighbor for washing his car too often: “I haven’t had the guts to go up to him and talk to him,” she wrote, “but hopefully you guys can do
Sprinkler heads are commonly pointed in the wrong direction in S. F.’ s Golden Gate Park, as this readersubmitted photo shows.
something about that water waste.”
Another woman even called out her brother in Woodside for knowingly overwatering his lawn: “He truly is very intelligent and reads the New Yorker every week,” she noted.
Beyond residential excess, there were complaints of institutional users like cities and schools — places that probably ought to know better — frittering away their supplies.
Inquiries to these alleged offenders found that sometimes the accusations held up, sometimes they didn’t, and sometimes the story was somewhere in between.
Sprinklers in the park
Take San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, where the sprinkler system has long been a source of frustration for the conservationminded. Water sometimes sprays wastefully onto roads and walkways, and, according to reader photos, it often pools on lawns and paths due to over- irrigating. At least once, the sprinklers ran in the rain.
City parks leaders told The Chronicle that the problems are due to old irrigation equipment. The 60- year- old sprinklers have to be manually operated, officials said, and they’re easily pushed out of place.
“The sprinkler heads could be turned if someone or animals accidentally hit them when they pass by,” wrote spokeswoman Connie Chan in an e- mail, who did not indicate what kind of animals may be to blame. “We ask the general public to call 311 immediately.”
The water that irrigates the park, though, does not come from the city’s drinking supply. It’s local groundwater, and park officials say they’ve done a good job cutting back on it by irrigating less. Improving their aim, hopefully, will also be in the cards.
Washing streets
Another common complaint of Chronicle readers is water that’s wasted washing streets, stairways and sidewalks.
While illegal under the state’s new conservation rules, the practice is allowed when human health or safety is at risk. San Francisco public works officials, worried about downtown filth — including of the human variety — helped push for the exemption,
At Mills High School in Millbrae, however, a conscientious passerby reported that walkways and parking lots were being power- washed over a recent two- day period for no justifiable reason. It didn’t appear to be a good example to set for young minds, and the onlooker backed up the conduct with a photo.
A call to the school for an explanation was not returned.
At UCSF’s new Mission Bay campus, a green grassy area known as Koret Quad caught the attention of another watersavvy reader.
“It’s squishy to the touch and always drenched,” the man wrote.
University officials said the area is one of few on campus where a lawn is maintained for recreational activities. They said most of the grounds, which are not conducive to play, were built with water savings in mind, from the drought- tolerant gardens to the hard- surface paths to the purple pipes that officials hope will one day move gray water.
Even with this attention to conservation, water consumption coordinator Eli Perszyk said the grassy areas are being re- evaluated and may be removed.
“Besides turning down the irrigation, we’re looking at retrofitting the landscaping,” Perszyk said. “There are peripheral turf areas that don’t serve any purpose, so let’s change that out.”
In the East Bay, another person concerned about thirsty turf questioned the decision of a state highway crew to plant sod along the interstate during a drought: “Why add new grass to the median on the 880 between West Oakland and Alameda?” he asked.
Sod captures runoff
The state Department of Transportation had an answer: The agency is required by law to capture highway runoff and filter it, and a strip of lawn works well for the task.
The new grass on Interstate 880, as well as at another site on Interstate 80 between University Avenue and Gilman Street, is being irrigated with recycled water until the sod’s roots take hold. Then, the low- water- using grass should thrive on its own, officials said.
Caltrans spokeswoman RocQuel Johnson said motorists in the area, who understandably worry about water waste, will soon see a “Reclaimed Water” sign.
So keep on moving. And keep those tips coming in.