June 1st 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Stage I will be in effect starting today June 1st and will continue through August 31st. If conditions warrant, irrigation will be prohibited on additional days of the week up to and including a total ban on irrigation.
Compliance with the initial restrictions will reduce the likelihood that more severe controls will be needed. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Stage I (Moderate) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. Irrigation using a hand-held hose shall be allowed at any time. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays except for the use of a hand held hose.
Stage II (Severe) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except for the use of a hand held hose. Irrigation using a hand held hose shall be allowed at any time.
Stage III (Pending/Critical) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to the use of a hand held hose on Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation of any kind shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Stage IV (Critical) – Irrigation is prohibited at any time. Exceptions for irrigation using a hand held hose may be allowed under conditions prescribed by the Village Manager of the Village of Ridgewood.
I like to stand out there with a hose. It makes me look busy, when all I really want is to not be bothered by anyone.
With reluctance I reprogrammed my sprinkler system last night with the help of the manual. If the issue were merely low water supply, I would accept this, but the preexistence for some years of an annual start date whatever the rainfall (as indicated on the village calendar, wrongly, as May 1 for a while, then forgotten for this year and omitted by mistake–but note that the end date is still there) has been a tipoff to the fact that the trouble is an inadequate pumping system.
three times a week should be plenty of water for any lawn in all but the most extreme weather. The thing that gets my goat more and more are the people who have elaborate sprinkler systems and no rain sensors, so their sprinklers come on at 5 AM after a night long rain. WTF.
Especially the apartments on Ridgewood Ave near Irving. Every morning they water like they are trying to grow a golf course.
With this now being an annual event, it’s beyond any discussion that we have a clear imbalance between supply and demand. Is this going to be addressed, or are the Heights residents going to fight tank expansion.
No we need to build more high density housing like in Hoboken.
9:59, I have been saying for years (yes, to the water department and council) that rain sensors should be mandated for all sprinkler systems, not only new systems. They don’t cost that much to install, although they have to be installed correctly. They aren’t perfect–it could pour five minutes after a watering, for example–but they are a terrific development and ought to be relied upon. Existing systems should never have been grandfathered. This could change with a simple new ordinance.
The next step would be maintenance and oversight. Every year I have to ask the sprinkler crew to test my rain sensor. It is not part of their regular spring turn-on-the-system routine, nor was it for my previous service, which installed it in the first place, but it should be.
Police driving around at 5 AM can easily identify which sprinklers are on when they shouldn’t be, because it’s the wrong day or it is raining or has just rained. Tickets could follow. I don’t want to be told to turn in my neighbors, although an anonymous tip line would surely uncover a large number of violations.
Education is needed. In my experience most people have no clue how to work their systems and no interest in learning. A few fines might inspire them to read the manual or make a call.