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Commission debates irrigation rules; chair seeks "working" rain sensor and single required automated control
Summary
Townsend commissioners discussed edits to rules and regulations for landscape irrigation, debating whether to require moisture sensors, rain shutoff devices and weather-based controllers and recommending language that would require at least one working automated control device rather than listing all devices as mandatory.
Townsend Water Commission members discussed proposed edits to the rules and regulations governing landscape irrigation on July 13, focusing on how to define required control devices and how strictly to mandate moisture-sensing technologies.
Chair Todd Melanson raised a specific drafting concern, urging the board to require a 'working' rain sensor rather than leaving the phrase open to equipment that is present but nonfunctional. "I would put in the word 'working' in front of any component we put on this because we ran into that in Charlotte," Melanson said, arguing that the rules should ensure devices actually operate. Commissioners and staff also discussed moisture sensors, rain-shutoff devices and weather-based controllers as acceptable automated controls; the consensus was to avoid language that could be read as mandating all three devices for every installation and instead specify that at least one functioning automated control be required.
Why it matters: The wording will determine compliance requirements for new commercial and residential irrigation systems and could affect installation costs and enforcement. Commissioners said they prefer clearer, consolidated language — for example, a single subsection describing time/date controllers, moisture sensors and weather-based controllers with a working-performance requirement — rather than scattering similar requirements throughout the document.
Next steps: Staff will revise the draft to consolidate the control-device language, add a working-device qualifier where appropriate, and circulate the updated draft to the commission for review before it is moved forward.
