It's 2:45 p.m. and sprinklers at both Burberry and Northborough parks (pictured here) are cycling. Not only does this violate the city's own brand-new Water Conservation Ordinance which stipulates no watering between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., but today is also a Spare The Water day as declared by the city because temps are over the 100-degree mark. Oh, an NO WATERING IS SUPPOSED TO OCCUR ON MONDAYS!Before our dear readers chastise THE BUZZ for posting these pics and criticizing the city instead of reporting the water waste, please know we have tried to follow protocol in the past with mixed success.
Our call to 311 a month ago to report a broken water valve spewing water at Sycamore Park was not unlike calling overseas customer service at the Sac Bee – the operator could not understand the problem and therefore no report was taken. And another time, when we tried to pass on a NATOMAS BUZZ reader's observation that the lawn was going brown at several area parks, we were assured it was because of the city's water conservation efforts. Later we found out a valve was broken and Burberry Park was simply not being watered.
With some Natomas residents getting notes on their doors declaring they are "breaking" the new water law, THE BUZZ can't help but wonder who is watching whether the city follows its own rules?
Our friends at KCRA shared this similar story with us about parks downtown being over watered and violating the new ordinance. The excuse? The sprinkler system had been "tampered with" and the city manager's office was "looking into" the issue.
