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The Drought Continues City of Scottsdale Collection Services
THE DROUGHT CONTINUES
By Randy Zellers SDL, Director of Operations
Scottsdale has not received any significant rainfall over the past two months. This trend is disturbing and may continue throughout the summer months. I’ve read it will be an active monsoon season and I’ve read it will be dry. I always say, “Plan for the worst and hope for the best” as no one can predict what may happen. If it remains unseasonably dry throughout the summer, additional pressure on our irrigation systems to provide needed water to our plants, trees and turf will be increased. Most water use is outside of the home for our pools, plants, trees and turf. More than likely, another cutback of water for Arizona is in the very near future.
In Tier 1, Arizona was hit the hardest with nearly one fifth of the state’s water supply being cut off. Arizona lost 500,000-acre feet of water that was allocated to it, which equates to 162,925,500,000 gallons of water. Tier 2, if it’s declared, will cut another 80,000 acre-feet of water from our base or 26,068,080,000 gallons. To put it in perspective, an acre-foot of water would generally supply three average Phoenix households with water for a year. According to Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), 41% of the state’s current water supply comes from groundwater, 36% from the Colorado River, 18% from in-state rivers, and 5% from reclaimed water.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at record low levels due to a two-decade long drought. A few weeks ago, the Bureau of Reclamation kept 500,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Powell to ensure that Glen Canyon Dam could stay functional and continue to produce hydro-electric power for our cities.
We will need to be diligent in our water management practices in order to get through this. Here are some tips to use water wisely in your landscapes:
• Irrigate turf in the early morning to avoid evaporation • Eliminate or minimize non-functional turf areas • Ensure matching nozzles in your turf zones • Utilize pressure regulating heads where possible • Utilize desert adapted plants and trees in your landscape • Avoid shearing of plants as they require more water to recover • Water trees and shrubs deeply and infrequently to encourage deeper root systems • Repair leaks in a timely fashion • Upgrade poly tubing to PVC pipe for longer life span • Monitor water bills and look for unusual spikes in usage • Reprogram irrigation controllers weekly based on weather
There is always a fine line between saving water and having a vibrant and healthy landscape. A lot depends on Mother Nature regarding rainfall and high and low temperatures daily. Rainfall in the last three years has steadily dropped through the first five months of the year:
2018 (1.58”) 2019 (3.93”) 2020 (3.94”) 2021 (1.87”) 2022 (0.75”)
ET rates have been higher as well through the first five months of the year. ET represents the amount of irrigation in inches needed to replace evaporated water through high temperatures, wind, solar radiation and humidity. 2018 (30.7”) 2019 (25.5”) 2020 (27.9”) 2021 (30.2”) 2022 (30.8”)
Awareness of the challenges around saving water will enable better decisions to be made for our future.
CITY OF SCOTTSDALE COLLECTION SERVICES
August 15th & September 19th SCOTTSDALE RANCH IS AREA 3
This Information can be found on the City of Scottsdale’s website at www.scottsdaleaz.gov.
The earliest items can be placed out is the Wednesday prior to the week of pickup and must be placed out no later than 5:00 am on Monday the week of the scheduled pick up. Residents, please be considerate of your neighbors - do not put your items out before the designated dates.
Placing items out before this time can result in hefty fines being assessed to your account.
Please be patient as the city has all week to pick-up in our area.
NOTICES FROM THE CITY OF SCOTTSDALE:
Please separate your brush and bulk pickup into two piles – one for green waste and one for everything else. The piles will be picked up by separate trucks during your designated brush and bulk pickup week.
*Please refrain from placing trash containers or bulk trash where it blocks the sidewalk and would prevent pedestrians or wheelchair bound residents from passing along the sidewalk.
The use of SRCA facilities and amenities are voluntary and at your own risk. Scottsdale Ranch Community Association cannot ensure that all areas are free of COVID–19 or other pathogens. The Association is not the guarantor of your personal safety if renting the community center, recreational boat rentals, or attending any groups, clubs or SRCA events.
