But if you don't believe me that it had rained almost my entire visit to Phoenix, AZ, not the "no more than a few hours," which people had promised me, then look at this picture I took of a park near my sister in Tempe.
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| flooded park/playground in Tempe, AZ |
The wet lawn here isn't from the rain; it's from their special underground irrigation system using waste water or something like that.
The sun came out only the day I left.
5 comments:
I don't know about the dryness in Israel. My daughter told me she had to wheel herself in pouring rain (4 days of rain in Tel Aviv) to Mega to buy herself some food for an empty fridge.
the residential irrigation water in Phoenix is not from wastewater; it is mountain water (like the drinking water) but hasn't been purified for drinking. it reaches the Phoenix area by a series of canals, set up by SRP (Salt River Project). the drinking water comes from SRP and from CAP (Central Arizona Project).
I understand that SRP irrigation was originally set up many years ago for agricultural use; and when the farmland became residential areas, the irrigation system remained.
not all homes are on the irrigation system, but those that are have a slight ridge, called a berm, around the edge of their yard. twice a month in summer, and once a month in winter, the home gets 45 min of "water time" that fills up the yard like a pond, a few inches deep. this water soaks into the ground and deep-waters the plants and trees. infrequent deep watering is considered better than frequent shallow watering (e.g. water sprinklers) because shallow watering makes the roots grow close to the surface. roots at the surface can easily dry out, and don't anchor the tree/plant very well. deep watering (a lot of water occasionally, rather than a little water sprinkled frequently on the surface) makes the roots grow deep, where they anchor the tree/plant, and don't dry out as quickly.
for those who don't have SRP irrigation, and between irrigation sessions for those who do have it, most people use drip irrigation. you will very rarely see lawn sprinklers in Phoenix.
while waste water is not used for residential irrigation, treated waste water is used for commercial irrigation, such as golf courses.
more info: http://www.srpnet.com/water/irrigation/defined.aspx
http://phoenix.gov/waterservices/ourservices/facts/index.html
http://phoenix.gov/waterservices/wrc/faqs/index.html#faq10
LL, it did rain in Israel, even during my son's famously romantic football game, but there were more raindays in Phoenix.
friend, thanks for the clarification. I couldn't remember the details, other than it wasn't drinking water.
you're welcome, anytime
btw the weather is lovely this week. I have all my windows open. I hope the weather will be good on your next visit.
Hope so, but no one knows, thanks
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