Open Letter To City Of El Paso – Why Are You Watering In The Middle Of The Day?

On my way home I usually drive down Edgemere by Burges High School. Edgemere used to be beautiful with nice grass and trees and so many people in the neighborhood use it to walk for exercise and sit in the shade of the trees with their kids and pets, but the City of El Paso has been xeriscaping portions of it for over a year now and they've torn up the once pristine greenspace. That has hacked me off enough but recently the City has been doing something else boneheaded on Edgemere. They are watering in the middle of the day in the summer while we are going through a huge stretch of triple digit high temperatures.

In El Paso, you can't just water whenever and for however long you want. There are seasonal watering schedules that you have to follow or else you could end up facing fines. El Paso Water Utilities has employees who drive around town during the spring and summer to make sure that residential watering schedules are followed. If you're watering and it runs into the street, you could get a ticket. The spring and summer watering schedule runs from April 1 through September 30. You can only water before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. on designated days.

Unfortunately as you can see from the video above which I shot earlier this week around 1:30 in the afternoon when the temperature was 104 degrees, El Paso Water and the City of El Paso don't seem to be following their own rules. We are in a huge budget hole right now because of COVID-19. I have no problem paying taxes for our city's greenspaces to stay green, but watering in the middle of the day during a heat wave is stupid and a waste of taxpayer money.

Yo, City of El Paso, get your act together and water at night or early in the morning like the rest of us.