Let it Flow!

We live in a desert. This should not be a surprise to anyone who knows anything about Utah. I think I got rained on twice during the whole summer. We have all sorts of snazzy campaigns about saving water (Slow the Flow, save H2O). Some cities have even gone so far as to fine people who waste water. None of this is news to anybody. Why then, in the name of all that is sweet and good, is it impossible for the University of Utah to control their own water usage? Why does the U get to run their sprinklers at 10:00 am on Stillwell Field? Why does the U let broken sprinkler-heads spout water like Old Faithful for two weeks before fixing them? Why does the U seem to think that its sidewalks and streets need to be watered as much or more than its lawns?

Seriously, this baffles me. I have been at the U now for 6 years, and they have never used what I would consider smart water planning. Which reminds me:

Gripe O' the Day: Shoreline Ridge sprinkler timing. Over the course of six years, a lot has changed at Shoreline. A new playground was built for the growing number of kiddies. Garden plots for the green of thumb. Shopping carts for the long of walk. Even barbecue turrets and three-ton picnic tables were installed. A lot of effort has been made to make Shoreline a comfy and welcoming place to live. (Aside from the helicopter, but that is a different story). Why then, is it so impossible to change the timing of the sprinklers?

The picnic table by our house, by some perverse coincidence, is also in the region of sprinklers that turn on some time between 7:00 and 8:00 pm. Is there a more prime grilling time than 7:00 - 8:00 pm? Dana and I have gotten rained out at least four times, and so have started taking all of our bowls down with us, to cover the sprinklers when they come on.

This would not be so bad, except I have called the grounds people about this situation at least three times, and it seems as though the changing of the timing on a sprinkler system is tantamount to building a pyramid. Nobody there is up to the task. It is too complicated, too difficult, and makes too much sense.