06/26/09 Bend
In this ‘You Ask, We Answer' G.M. says, "This is a pet peeve of mine and I will share it with you. I'll call it "Watering the Road." I work evenings, so that means I get off of work at 11pm, I see every night driving home the water that is wasted by the City of Bend nightly. Reed Market Road at Bond is usually pretty well soaked, either the sprinklers are not adjusted properly or the grass it being overly watered. One thing I do notice that there are too many sprinkler heads in one area, the round about island seems to have twice as many sprinkler heads than is needed. This is not the only place I have noticed water running down the street, it seems that the city wastes water and doesn't worry about it. The weather has been cool enough and the grass is getting too much water, I do understand that when the weather gets hot the water evaporates faster, but this doesn't seem to be the case right now. I only see when the sprinklers are on around 11pm, I do not know how many times they are set to go on throughout the day or night, I am sure it is more that once."
The city of Bend's response:
Thank you for your comments. I certainly understand how this is bothersome and it is something we are aware of. However, we (the City) does not own this landscape or the irrigation system that waters this traffic circle. This is owned by the Old Mill District and they are not using City water for irrigation. They are using river water for all the irrigation in the Old Mill District. We have worked with them in the past on this issue, but ultimately they are a privately owned business and we have no jurisdiction over how they use river water for irrigation. All City owned right of way's and irrigation systems are maintained to prevent run off onto streets and are controlled with smart controllers that apply only the amount of water need to replace the evapotranspiration from the previous day. We will continue to encourage the Old Mill and all water users to consider using this low cost technology to reduce the kind of issues that you have routinely witnessed at this traffic circle.
Tom Hickmann P.E.
City of Bend
Public Works Department
The Old Mill District's Water Manager response:
1. We have invested in a Rainbird Site Control central control irrigation system that links 44 controllers together allowing us a greater amount of control and each zone cycles and then soaks to help use the water efficiently and prevent runoff.
2. We have installed a higher density of sprinklers in some areas (specifically those with hard surfaces surrounding the landscaping) in order to reduce the run time of zones to provide adequate coverage and to reduce the effect of wind on the irrigation systems.
3. We employ two irrigation technicians from April - October who spend 90% of their time focusing on the Old Mill District irrigation system making sure that it works efficiently.
4. It is important to us to conserve water and maintain a beautiful area for all visitors to enjoy.
Thanks,
Mike
Mill Site Management
Mike declined to answer the question on camera.
