Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Any consistency in watering regulations in the suburbs?

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Is there any consistency in water regulations? All of the suburbs buy their Michigan water through the City of Chicago, some through middle men like in Oak Lawn. SO we pay through the nose because Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is greedy and punitive when it comes to the suburbs. It's about money for him and his fast deteriorating, street gang plagued city.

But is their any consistency in water regulations?

The Village of Orland Park imposes an even-odd day system allowing resident to water 7 am to 11 am and 7 pm to 11 pm on their days. Home addresses ending in even numbers water on even days and home addresses ending in odd numbers water on odd days.

But that's just for people who water using hoses and manual sprinklers. The industry that makes these sprinklers have gone from bad to worse, replacing the metal sprinklers with plastic ones that barely last one summer season.

People who have "in-ground, automatic sprinklers systems" seem to be able to water any time they want with no repercussions. Is that fair? I don't think so. Actually, if a homeowner spends $3,000 to install an in-ground sprinkler system, you would think they would include an automatic system that can distinguish between odd and even dates? It's all digital these days.

But I see people watering all the time in violation of the even-odd system.

It's not fair.

I try to water about once every five days, front and back, moving the sprinklers around on the lawn in the morning and then in the evening. It seems to work, but it is a hassle.

I stopped a guy who was checking on someone's sprinkler system and asked him to give me an estimate on an in-ground system for my home, but he told me I should call his office. Don't want the business? No problem. You won't get it.

But can't we have some sense of fairness with water?

The mayor of Orland Park Dan McLaughlin did a robo-call tonight urging residents to conserve water this week when temperatures hit the upper 90s. Check on your senior neighbors, too. And watch electricity.

Checking on seniors is important. But why the rest of the constraints? Don't we have enough water and electricity to go around even when the temperatures are up there? I mean is 99 really that serious? Or have we just become overly cautious. When the temperatures exceed 100, I can see taking extra precautions. Cooling centers. Monitoring your neighbors. Conserving on water? But we have to do it every summer, regardless of the temperatures.

What do you do in your suburb? It would be nice to hear what restrictions are everywhere else.

-- Ray Hanania
www.hanania.com