Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) hosted Smart About Water Day at Lazy 5 Park Saturday to discuss a variety of water-related issues. Topics ranged from low-water landscaping to TWMA’s management of the Truckee Meadows water system.
TMWA’s Dale Carlon lead a tour around the park explaining do’s and don’ts of tree care. He explained that cottonwoods can draw huge amounts of water while trees like the Russian Olive draw significantly less and are easier to maintain. Carlon also explained how a drip system, when used correctly, can supply a variety of trees with different water needs all on one system. He offered advice on how to select the correct tree for your property in the first place and how to best handle trees that have become an issue or appear to be sick.
Other discussions covered more broad topics about TMWA as a whole. John Enloe, director of natural resources planning and management for TMWA, talked on a variety of subjects including TMWA’s approach to the expected population growth in the area. He explained that forecasting the next 20 years helps TMWA both in its infrastructure needs as well as the demand for water in relation to TMWA’s water rights.
The 2015 drought was often used as an example of the worst-case scenario, but even in predictions where 2015 would be repeated over 20 years the diverse water system TMWA has would be able to function under even this drastic situation. This system includes the Truckee River, Donner and Independence lakes water reservoirs, and underground wells.
Smart Water Day was an opportunity for TMWA to present its ideas and inform the Reno community on how their water system works. With the drought of 2015 behind us, the need for constant messaging about water conservation is no longer at the forefront. TWMA used this opportunity to continue the discussion about the region’s water and is considering the idea of hosting these type of events throughout the Reno area.
If you would like to add to the discussion about water for the next 20 years for Reno please go to http://tmrpa.org/regionalplanupdate2017/
