City Fines Itself for Water Restriction Violations

Stemming from numerous citizen complaints over excessive and unlawful irrigation practices, the City of Las Cruces has been forced to fine itself for repeated violations of summer water conservation rules.

Says local woman Marla Singer, “I was riding my bicycle to the library downtown, and when I got there they were watering the grass (and sidewalks) with sprinklers. It was Monday morning at 10 after 10. It was hot already.”

Common knowledge suggests that irrigating grass and landscaping during the day when the sun hits full strength is not only stupid, but also an incredible waste of water. Most of the water will evaporate and you increase the possibility of the grass being scorched.

The City of Las Cruces is trying to enforce water conservation year-round, but especially in the summer months when demand is higher and largely driven by squanderous golf courses sucking down vast amounts of fresh water.

From April 1st to September 30th, The City prohibits watering of vegetation between 10AM and 6PM. Effective year-round the following rules apply to everybody, including The City itself:

• No watering on Monday
• Even numbered addresses: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
• Odd numbered addresses: Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

“We were caught red-handed,” said the city Water Conservation Program, “and we now plan to take steps to heed our own ordinance. We’ve waived our right to a hearing and have volunteered to pay the appropriate fine of $100. To ourselves.”

Tyler Durden, who lives in an abandoned house on Paper Street, uses recycled greywater to relieve his backyard herb garden during restricted days, also called The City on what he calls “a disgusting waste of a precious natural resource.”

Weeeee! Let's see how much water it takes to flood the parking lot!

“I was walking around central Las Cruces last weekend and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Three city parks were running irrigation sprinklers in the middle of the day. Are they joking? Then I saw some guy spraying his entire driveway with a hose – for FIFTEEN MINUTES. Finally, I passed four separate fundraiser car washes where I saw garden hoses just lying on the hot pavement, running gallon after gallon of water all over the street. It was like a flood. I wanted to go punch all those kids in the face, but the girls did look pretty hot in their 2-pieces so I just let it go.”

Girls in bikinis usually get what they want

The City is taking further steps toward conserving water, and held a community meeting last week to generate ideas on how to encourage residents to stop being agua gluttons. As usual, only three people showed up, but some interesting suggestions came up.

Area artist Robert Paulson offered to design a series of signs and decals to place on violators’ properties as a friendly reminder.

“If someone thinks it’s ok to drench their useless crabgrass with 100 gallons of water every afternoon, they might think twice if they go out the next day and see one of our signs posted in their front yard.”

Paulson also suggested disconnecting municipal water for repeat offenders and forcing them instead to walk to a city water station with wooden buckets to receive their daily allotment of water.

“We realize new residents want to bring their horticulture habits with them from Minnesota, Wisconsin, or wherever they came from. Back in the 1970s when Las Cruces was a small town, it was fun. Now with over 200,000 people sprawling out into the desert, it’s a problem. I’ve already convinced four of my neighbors to scrap their grass lawns and xeriscape instead. They say it’s the most liberating thing they ever did.”

The Water Conservation Program is coordinated through the Joint Utilities Water Resource Section by:
Mr. Joshua G. Rosenblatt
680 N. Motel Blvd.
575-528-3549
jrosenblatt@las-cruces.org