Madison's new public works director, Fred Snoderly, must have brought some high-country libertarianism with him from Idaho. In one of his first major acts as a city employee, Snoderly has recommended lifting Madison's watering restrictions. Last night he told the city commission that with the expanded capacity of our water treatment plant, plenty of wells, and a replenished water table, we apparently have enough water that people can pour all they want out on the ground.
Now even if Madison has a lot of water, is that really cause to lift restrictions on usage on lawn watering? Seriously, folks, it's just grass. Whether we have a lot of water or not, dumping all that useful water on your yard for golf-course-quality greenery is still waste. Unless you're absolutely sure that we're never going to have another drought, xeriscaping is still where it's at.
Madison certainly has a lot of water. Unfortunately, a lot of that water is flowing right into city policeman Steve Sanchez's basement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S5sFizlOec
Officer Sanchez and his family live at the intersection where Summit Avenue T's with North Sixth Street. When it rains hard, water runs down Summit, hits the curb, and washes over into the Sanchez yard and, all too often, the basement. Clearly the Sanchez home was not intended to act as a retention pond. The street and storm sewer require some re-engineering to handle the flow of water.
According to a letter in last night's city commission agenda, Officer Sanchez contacted PWD Snoderly on July 8 about the situation. Snoderly had not replied before last night's meeting. Officer Sanchez e-mailed the city commissioners about the situation on July 15. The commissioners had not replied before last night's meeting. Apparently city officials are too busy figuring out how to remove rules and promote water waste to take a moment to respond to homeowner concerns about needs for city infrastructure improvements.
Update 07:39 MDT: My lovely wife reminds me that not so long ago, Mayor Hexom was fretting that Madison doesn't have enough water to support long-term large-scale development plans. I assume that Mr. Snoderly's recommendation for unbridled grass sprinkling means we can also get by without the Lewis and Clark water pipeline? (I knew it: Snoderly is an infiltrator from the Idaho Freedom Militia! He's trying to undo all our connections to big government! Next up: no more city water hookup fees!)