Robert Vickers: Riverbank’s draconian water rules will kill plants

I received a notice from the city of Riverbank regarding water use. It includes the following highlights:

▪ We may water one day per week, but not from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sprinklers are prohibited.

▪ Only hand-watering allowed with a person present to control the water use.

▪ No watering may occur for 48 hours after a rain event ends (whatever a “rain event” means).

We all know that we need to conserve water, but is it necessary to destroy all plant life in Riverbank in order to do so? Riverbank’s new water regulations insure that this will be the result. This will ultimately cause dead plant life that will surely create fire hazards during the hot summer.

Riverbank should have rules to conserve water, but not at the expense of destroying plant life. A little compromise and common sense can achieve water conservation and maintain a pleasant, safe environment.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Robert Vickers: Riverbank’s draconian water rules will kill plants."