By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The city of Hays prohibits outdoor watering between the hours of noon and 7 p.m. from June 1 to September 30 every year.
Residents wanting to seed or sod a warm-season lawn during the summer can get a permit from the city, at no charge, which allows watering outdoors during the prohibited hours to establish the new grass.
Currently, the warm season lawn permits allow 10 days of additional watering with no extension.
City Water Conservation Specialist Jason Riegel told city commissioners Thursday night, “10 days isn’t always long enough,” and advocated changing the permits to allow an extension.
“The 10 day permit may need to be extended during certain circumstances to
guarantee warm season vegetation establishment, such as when it’s hot and dry or if the grass is on north facing slopes,” he explained.
“Improved varieties of Bermuda grass may take up to 14 days to germinate when started from seed.”
Commissioners voted to approve Riegel’s recommended change in the ordinance.
Now, when an extension for a warm season lawn permit is requested, city staff will make the decision based on current conditions and the type of lawn planted. Staff may then extend warm season grass watering permits for a period of 10 days as determined by an on-site inspection.
Warm season lawn permits, for grasses including Bermuda and buffalo, are granted June 1 to August 1.
Commissioners decided against increasing the cost of cool season lawn permits, which are $100, and are available August 25 to Sept. 30. Cool season grasses, which require considerably more water, include fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. No cool season lawn permits have been sold the past two years.
“We’re not punishing cool-season lawn owners,” said Commissioner Henry Schwaller, who voted for changing the ordinance but still favors a fee hike for cool season lawn permits.
“We’re saying if you want to plant that kind of yard, you have to pay a little bit more because we’re really trying to discourage that. We’re trying to convert everyone to warm season grass,” he said.
Riegel told commissioners 32 property owners have signed up for “Cash for Grass,” a new rebate program by the city that offers up to $1,000 for converting lawns to warm season grass.
“I did some math,” said Riegel. There are 32 of the approximate 8,500 households in Hays participating this first year–1 in every 218 households.” The city has budgeted enough money to fund 50 rebates. “If we max it, that would be 1 in every 171 households.”
San Diego, where the entire population of California has been ordered to cut water use by 25 percent, has initiated a similar program.
According to Riegel, “San Diego did 350 rebates and has 490,000 households. We have four times the participation in Hays than what it is in San Diego.”
“We’re pretty proud of that,” added City Manager Toby Dougherty.