Editorial: Check the date before you water; check the road before you drive
After another wet spring our weather pattern has again gone dry. Until a burst of quick showers Friday and Saturday, the dry spell lasted two weeks and summer’s barely begun.By: Editorial Staff, River Falls Journal
After another wet spring our weather pattern has again gone dry. Until a burst of quick showers Friday and Saturday, the dry spell lasted two weeks and summer’s barely begun.
The last two years have seen droughts from mid- to late summer. We don’t know what’s in store for the rest of this summer, but we do know that, no matter how it turns out, the city already has a new odd/even sprinkling ban.
Last summer’s drought was so severe that one city well nearly dried up. A citywide emergency water ban was passed to conserve limited resources so the well could recharge.
With that lesson from the past, the City Council earlier this year enacted the Water Conservation Ordinance. The aim is to restrict usage in advance so shortages don’t develop later when dry weather takes over.
The new law makes for a good conservation practice and doesn’t impose hardships. As a reminder, here are highlights:
There are exceptions to these rules for new landscaping, cemeteries and outdoor sports fields. You can also water gardens, trees and shrubs at any time using a hand-held can, container or hose as long as you don’t leave these devices unattended.
This is all about conserving now to avoid a crisis later. That’s reasonable and fair.
More on this subject can be found at www.rfmu.org. Click on the red highlighted “Even/Odd Water Restrictions.”
Last week you may sympathized with a letter from Julie Mazac, town of Troy mother, who got a scare when her teenage daughter was knocked off her bike by a passing motorist.
Mazac wrote that her daughter was riding on the right side of the road — where legally she’s allowed to be — when the incident occurred. The girl had scrapes and bruises but was otherwise not badly hurt. The careless driver never stopped to help, which amounts to a hit-and-run and is cause for an arrest.
Mazac ended her letter with this plea: “School is out, drivers. Kids will be out on bikes, pedestrians on walks. Please, please, please watch out for them!”
We concur with Julie Mazac. With most of the college students away, our city seems smaller and less congested. But local K-12 students are busy doing plenty of things around town. Younger students mostly rely on their feet or pedaling for transportation.
Those who bike do a pretty good job. Some benefited from safety training provided by police at the recent Bike Rodeo during Town N’ Country Day. But bicyclists can be harder to pick out on streets filled with cars. And, sometimes, they don’t always follow traffic rules, like stopping at a stop sign or giving a hand signal before turning.
So adult motorists must drive defensively and be on the lookout for young bicyclists, especially in summer. Don’t give anymore scares to mothers like Julie Mazac.
Tags: ri er, falls, opinion, editorial
More from around the web
RSS Feeds