As I walk home, I notice that there are always sprinklers on. This is not a once in a while deal. Water is continuously being wasted as the sprinklers are being used to water the grass.

Gallons and gallons of water are being wasted as the sprinklers are left on at random times to do nothing but water the already watered down grass. I understand that there hasn’t been that much rain lately, but when the grass is already green as it can get, how much more water can someone put on it?

According to the Oregon Water Resources Department, one should only water their lawn once a week and in the morning before 10 a.m. This is not being followed at Linfield because the sprinklers have been on at least every other night.

Also, the Water Resource Department says not to water late in the day because it can “promote fungus and other lawn diseases.” This is a safety precaution that should be followed otherwise the growing process of the plants will be affected. The time frame provided by the resources department should be followed rather than ignored. This is not just an environmental issue, but it can also effect students. It may be said that Linfield’s beauty is its campus but the beauty will be lost if there are threats of someone getting lawn disease from walking around in the fungus infested grass.

The plants are in danger here. By being overwatered, plants are more likely to die than the plants that are being under watered.  If one wants the plants to stay green and survive, then treatment should be taken when watering them.

I understand that the school would like to keep the grass green but there should be conversation of this resource.  This act is not just affecting the school’s grass, but it is also making an impact on the supply of clean water that we have.  According to Water Aid America, 97.5 percent of the water on Earth is salt water, which means the supply of clean water is rather low. Shouldn’t we conserve some of the wasted water used on overwatered plants?

Linfield is beautiful, however, there is such thing as watering something a little too much. The school should take into consideration the correct ways of watering a lawn and all the health and environmental hazards will be lowered. Wasted water should be preserved not used to just provide a scenic view.

______________________________________________________________________________________________
Ivanna Tucker/Features editor
Ivanna Tucker can be reached at [email protected].