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Council hears residents’ complaints about irrigation overuse after weekend drain of city pond
Summary
Councilors and staff discussed heavy weekend irrigation that drained a city pond, limits on watering, communication challenges with partial shareholders, and the need for better coordination with the irrigation company and farmers.
Mount Pleasant councilors and staff spent a substantial portion of the Aug. 26 meeting discussing irrigation overuse, drained ponds and the difficulty of enforcing watering limits.
Councilors said heavy weekend watering drained the city’s pond the weekend before the meeting, necessitating shutdowns and triggering complaints from residents. A council speaker described monitoring a pasture that used substantial water: "If you take 1,400 gallons a minute, just say we're at 50%, that's 700 gallons a minute that the city should have," the speaker said, noting that a pasture was using roughly 250 gallons per minute in addition to other users.
Councilors agreed communication with partial shareholders and the irrigation company needs improvement. They discussed asking the irrigation company to post or publish water entitlement information (for example, gallons per share) and to help manage expectations and conforming to schedules. Councilors and staff said legal constraints limit the city’s ability to shut off shares because some irrigators are partial shareholders; instead, the city must rely on the irrigation company’s rules, clearer signage and public education.
Council members also discussed alternative scheduling (odd/even day watering) and the trade-offs of changing the schedule versus public confusion. The discussion included observations about pressure spikes and equipment wear caused by frequent shut-offs and restarts and the strain that generates on the system.
What’s next: Council asked staff to coordinate with the irrigation company to improve communication about entitlements and watering schedules and to prepare education/outreach materials; staff will also continue monitoring pond levels and report back.
