Washoe County is preparing to conserve water as it enters what is expected to be an extremely dry summer. The county is reducing water use by 10 percent at county buildings and parks.
Washoe County water play parks like Melio Gaspari Water Park at Lazy 5 Regional Park and the North Valleys Water Play Park at North Valleys Regional Park plan to open and operate as normal.
These parks recycle and recirculate water. The water is captured through a drain system and then filtered and treated much like a pool system. There is some water loss through evaporation, but it is not significant.
Washoe County is planning to conserve water the following ways:
- Several parks and golf courses are irrigated with treated water or ditch water. The public may see normal irrigation patterns in these parks/golf courses.
- Parks not irrigated by treated or ditch water will reduce irrigation use by 10 percent.
- The county is working with a landscape contractor to reduce irrigation use by 10 percent at county buildings.
The availability of ditch water is anticipated to be very short. With the 10-percent reduction and the lack of available ditch water, the public will likely see brown areas throughout Washoe County Parks and Golf Courses. With the short ditch water season anticipated this summer, several of our park ponds may be lower than usual.
The public should call 775-328-2311 if they see a water leak at a county park.
