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Council approves temporary watering exemption for Moses Lake School District athletic fields through Nov. 15
Summary
The council unanimously approved Ordinance 30-71 to grant Moses Lake School District a temporary exemption from weekday watering limits for athletic fields, citing large field acreage and infrastructure limitations; council asked staff and district to explore alternative water sources and rate adjustments before the exemption sunset.
The Moses Lake City Council voted unanimously July 8 to adopt a temporary exemption (ordinance 30-71) allowing the Moses Lake School District to irrigate athletic fields more frequently than the city’s standard restrictions until Nov. 15, 2025.
School district representatives told council many of their fields require substantially more irrigation than the present schedule allows and said existing infrastructure (numerous zones on single meters, sandy soils at some sites and short turf height for athletics) limits how much water can be applied during the time windows currently permitted. District staff said some fields previously received roughly double the watering time the revised city schedule permits and that they have seen turf loss and sites requiring reseeding where irrigation was insufficient.
Council members debated equity and rate structure, noting the city also pays the tiered rates and that public fields serve taxpayers. Several members urged the district and city to collaborate on alternative sources (wells, lake water) and possible rate adjustments for large public facilities. Council member Mark Skog asked staff to bring potential rate-structure changes and further options to the water strategy meeting planned for July 22.
Because staff and district requested a prompt solution while longer-term options are explored, the council adopted the temporary exemption with an expiration date of Nov. 15 to allow time for follow-up work without creating an open-ended carve-out.
