It’s officially autumn. It even drizzled this week. But Dallas enters Stage 1 drought alert
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| TUESDAY, 11:51 A.M. Ricky Bradley at Reagan Street and Cedar Springs Road. 66 degrees, 94 percent humidity. |
Because of a decrease in the lake levels that Dallas uses for water supply, assistant city manager Ramon Miguez announced on Tuesday that Dallas will initiate stage 1 water awareness. That same day, it finally rained. And forecasters were predicting that temperatures would fall to 40 degrees by Thursday.
Even though it’s getting cooler in Big D, water is scarce. And the city is asking residents to conserve as wisely as possible.
On Tuesday morning, I cruised Cedar Springs Road looking for anyone in rain gear. I spotted a snappy looking gentleman working on his laptop at Buli Caf? and asked him about our water situation, his raincoat and his lawn.
Who: Ricky Bradley, event planner
Neighborhood: I live in North Dallas, near Keller Springs and North Dallas Tollway.
Occupation: Self-employed in the event-planning industry.
Cool raincoat. Can you remember the last time you wore it? Nope. It’s been quite a while. I bought it 1995, I remember that. So that makes it 11 years old.
Did you bring an umbrella today? No. I don’t even own one. But this coat has a hood.
Where do you get your weather forecast? From local TV stations. And I watch The Weather Channel as well.
Did you run your air conditioning last night? I did.
Is it running right now? Yes. It’s a little cooler today, but it’s also pretty humid.
Live in a house or apartment? A house.
Do you have automatic sprinkler system? Yes we do.
How often do you water? Once a week.
Do you know which day of the week? Gosh, I don’t.
What’s the last number of your street address? Seven.
An odd number. Yep, and I’m already aware of the new restrictions that will be based on address numbers.
Do you xeriscape? What’s that?
Using native plants that don’t require supplemental irrigation. We have some of that. Our lawn is mostly Bermuda grass. We also have some ground cover plants that don’t need much watering.
How would you describe Dallas’ summer of 2006? Hot.
Do you remember if it was hotter than last year? This summer certainly seemed longer.
Fill in the blank: I’m
when it rains: Relieved. Some people get depressed when it rains. Not me. I like rain just fine.
WATCH YOUR WATER
The city is asking residents to limit watering lawns to twice a week. Addresses ending in even numbers water on Sundays and Thursdays. Odd numbers water on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Hand-held hoses, faucet filled bucket or drip-irrigation-systems are permitted anytime.
The city is encouraging restaurants to voluntarily post signs indicating that water is served only upon request and that hotels voluntarily post signs asking their patrons to reuse towels and linens.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, October 13, 2006.