I am looking out the window in the pouring rain knowing that automatic watering restrictions will be in place shortly. We have plenty of water, but our system can only deliver so much so watering restrictions kick in. Our restrictions are ridiculous in that they allow watering only in the wee hours of the morning and on certain days of the week. Limiting the number of days and hours for watering makes sense, but forcing people to install automatic sprinkler systems or turn on sprinkles at 4am is over the top. Our bylaw offices are out there ticketing people for letting their kids run through the sprinklers in the heat, but are never on duty to ticket those that have their sprinklers on all night every night. It is really easy to catch the cheaters too - look for the green lawns in the summer. Does your town restrict water usage? If so, what are the rules and are they enforced?
Here in this country there are places where it hasn't been raining for years. I have lived in several drought stricken areas and know how precious water is. There was time a few years ago, when people were literally urged to have showers together and save the water for the garden or for the car. Water restrictions were extreme. One could only water the garden with a hand held hose 3 times a week during certain hours. The water used in washing machines and dishwashers also had to be saved. In some areas people have become used to this way of life.
We do have restrictions on sprinkler use for lawn irrigation only. You can water with a hand held hose at any time. You can water your produce garden at any time and you can use sprinklers for that. I do recall that there have been seasons of drought in the past in which more restrictions were put in place.
Currently we don't have any water restrictions in place and this does surprise me somewhat. I've watched some pretty interesting specials on the Discovery Channel and others concerning our fresh water supply and it certainly doesn't look good for the not so far off future. I remember having watering bans in our neighborhoods in the 70's when I was younger and I've never taken issue with watering bans because water is such a precious resource.
We rarely have any water restriction here in Maryland. The only restrictions we get are usually lawn watering and pool filling, and that's only if we're in an extreme dry spell or Conowingo lake is getting dry.
