LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tackling water waste at a valley school. A viewer reaching out to Channel 13 on social media about run-off he says is coming from a middle school campus. His complaints drew the attention of a Clark County commissioner.
An angry tweet criticizing water waste at Jack Lund Schofield Middle School. Sprinklers watering the fields. The tweet asked why the school was excessively watering and on a Sunday, a valley-wide blackout day. The Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) says schools are allowed special permits to have a different watering schedule.
"The Clark County School District has a lot of property and a lot of grass they are maintaining, so kids all across Southern Nevada have a good quality place to play and recreate,” Bronson Mack, public information officer with LVVWD, said.
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Water district officials however say heavy runoff is still a violation. They say water investigators looked into a complaint of water waste at the middle school made on July 4, discovering a violation. CCSD confirmed there was an irrigation equipment malfunction. The water district says CCSD maintenance crews quickly responded.
"They were able to get one of the issues repaired right away, but they do have an outstanding work order for one leak they're working to get repaired,” Mack said.
CCSD wrote in a statement saying in part:
"CCSD watering schedules are designed to comply with the local jurisdiction's watering regulations. When an equipment issue is discovered, crews work to make repairs as quickly as possible as we remain committed to water conservation."
The complaint about water waste drew the attention of Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft who started tweeting. He says accountability for water use isn't limited to citizens, but to government entities as well.
"If we're imposing rules on people, if we're recognizing we're all in this together. We are in a drought and in a dire situation. We all need to come to the table and make sacrifices,” he said.
Commissioner Naft says what happened at Schofield Middle School is a good example of reporting water waste. Water district officials encourage people to report water wasting and they can use the app. They're also asking for pictures.
"What time of day did you see it? What day of week did you see it and where did you see it?” Mack said.
The water district says the repairs on that final leak at the school should happen this week, and they'll do another follow-up investigation to make sure that repair happens.
