There have been many questions about the watering schedule of the North Channel. This is the area as you come through the Jefferson Gate that is on your right where the ponds are located, and you can walk with your dog on a leash if you so wish.
There are many requests about watering given the different concerns. Some Residents want the area dry by 5 am so that they can walk early morning. This means we need to water at night and hopefully in time for the area to dry out by 5 am. It takes about 4 hours to go through the entire watering program of the area. So, you can see if we start watering at 2 am, some areas will be wet at 5 am.
We could start the watering time at 10 pm, but some residents have complained that the sprinklers spray on their car when they drive by. The sprinklers are checked and are adjusted correctly, but if the wind comes up it will blow water across the street and onto your car if you drive by. These residents have requested starting the sprinklers at 1 or 2 am so it won’t spray on their cars.
You can see the problem. We used to start the sprinklers at 10 am and then again at 2 am because during the summer the area needed more water. This situation leads to complaints about watering of cars driving by and complaints about the area wet in the morning when people are walking.
We have decided to water at night only once and to start the watering time at 12 midnight. This way the sprinklers will be done by 4 am to give a little time for the area to dry out before residents begin their walk. It does mean if you drive by at midnight your car will get wet if the wind is blowing. We can’t resolve this issue given all the other constraints. We felt there are fewer cars at midnight compared to 10pm, so midnight got the start time. We can’t go later like 1 am or 2 am because the sprinklers would not be done in time so that the area can dry out a little bit for the early morning walkers.
Because we are not watering twice at night, staff will be watering again during the day at some point. This is done with a manual start by staff when there are no people walking in the area. This means you can see the sprinklers running during the day, at different times, in different locations depending on what area needs water. Staff is trying not to interfere with anyone walking while making sure the grass gets enough water on the hot spots that need it.
Hopefully this answers your questions as to the watering of the North Channel and why you now see watering during the day. It is being done to try and resolve all the other concerns that have been presented. It is not possible as you can see to resolve everyone’s request, but this might be the best solution to affect the fewest people and accommodate most concerns.
Thank you,
Kim Fuller
President