The carelessness with which this university wastes water is infuriating. However, what’s even worse is the fact that nobody seems to be taking seriously the constant complaints that students make about sprinklers spewing water all over the pavement while it’s drizzling rain. The Daily Campus commentary page has heard plenty of them in the last two or three years.
A column written on Nov. 21 last year by Teisha-Vonique Hood mentioned not only sprinklers working during downpours, but also how SMU sprinklers drench students, create mud puddles and flooded sidewalks and have a tendency to water everything but the grass. An editorial run earlier this semester about sprinklers in front of the Fondren science building highlighted not only the huge fields of mud careless watering has created, but also the fact that the sprinklers run every time of the except for the early morning – which means that heat, humidity and wind speeds make watering less effective.
It goes without saying that the absolute least effective time to water one’s lawn is during the rain. So what were the sprinklers doing going full-blast in the main quad Tuesday night, when it was raining?
The new water restrictions that went into effect in Dallas Jan. 1 of this year include watering during “any form of precipitation” as well as the requirement of rain sensor devices on any irrigation system installed after January. Those who break those restrictions are supposed to receive heavy fines.
Either SMU is exempt from these laws on the virtue of being in University Park, or SMU simply considers itself apart from the rest of Dallas. Either assumption is an exercise in pretension and self-importance.
This is not a plea for another parking garage or a renovated Dedman Center. This is not a plea for Perkins to overhaul financial aid or improve admissions standards.
This is a plea for the university to use the common sense God gave gravel, look up the weather listings in the daily paper and turn off the sprinklers when it rains. Is that too much to ask?
