“We held a public hearing workshop and the same public that showed up here (today) showed up there,” TMWA board chairman Mike Carrigan said Wednesday at the board’s monthly meeting.
No members of the public outside of TMWA staff attended.
The plan to increase watering days had its first reading at the meeting. It will need to be adopted by the board, the cities of Reno and Sparks and Washoe County.
The plan would require homeowners with even-numbered addresses to water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and those who have odd-numbered addresses to water on Wednesday and Friday and Sunday. Watering on Mondays would be prohibited.
TMWA’s research has found that water users on the metered system don’t use as much water as those who pay by flat rate. According to TMWA, the increase in watering days is allowed because 90 percent of residential customers are now on meters.
TMWA director Dave Aiazzi asked whether the increase in days would increase usage.
John Erwin, TMWA’s director of natural resources planning and management, said there would not be much of an impact.
“Research has indicated that it will have a neutral effect,” Erwin said. “All we’re doing is spreading it to a third day. It will probably reduce what we anticipate as a peak-day usage. On two days, everybody’s trying to squeeze in four days’ of watering.”
Aiazzi also suggested that TMWA determine if it has the authority to help the cities establish local jurisdiction in case a water emergency would need to be declared.
The TMWA board will have a second reading and possible adoption of the watering days increase at its Feb. 17 meeting.
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