"I am amazed to find the city of Gilroy wasting so much water. Wednesday, June 25, I was at Las Animas Park and was very disappointed to see the lawns were being watered from 10 a.m. until we left around 3 p.m. Every lawn tip sheet I have ever seen has said you should never water grass during the heat of the day. In addition to that doesn't it make it difficult for people to go enjoy a nice day at the park sitting on the lawn? The other problem I saw was that the concrete skate park got a very good watering by some of the adjacent sprinklers to the point that there was a very large, very hazardous puddle in the skate park. While we were there, we were also treated to two hours of an employee washing down four of the tennis courts with a high-pressure water hose. I have to wonder if a good air blowing might have been a better solution given the current need to conserve water. It's not just the city that wastes water. I see businesses all over Gilroy turning on the sprinklers at all hours of the afternoon."

Dear Water Logged,

Red Phone contacted Carla Ruigh, operations services manager for the city, to answer your questions. She said she's not certain why the irrigation was running that day.

"We have had valve problems at that park where the valves were not turning on/shutting off correctly," she said. "When this happens, the irrigation needs to be run during the day so we can diagnose the problem."

This can be an inconvenience to park users, she added, but it is necessary to prevent excessive watering at night. They do frequently run irrigation during the day to check the system, ensure it is working properly, adjust the heads, identify any broken heads. etc. They also will run irrigation during the day on occasion to supplement the night irrigation if a station didn't water at night or if an area of the turf needs a little extra water.

As for the water on the skate park, the skate park was built after the irrigation was installed.

"The irrigation was modified to adequately water the turf with minimal overspray onto the concrete," she said. "Additionally the skate park is round, and our irrigation heads operate at 90 degree angles, so it is impossible to water the adjacent turf without having overspray into the skate park. Staff will check that station to make sure that it is not out of adjustment and going farther into the skate park than necessary to properly irrigate the adjacent turf."

In regards to the tennis courts, the city typically only pressure washes the courts once a year in preparation for the annual Garlic Festival Tournament.

"This is the premier and only USTA sanctioned adult tournament held locally, and there is an obligation on the part of the tournament host to make sure that the courts are clean and safe, and that the sanctioned status of the tournament is not jeopardized by competitor complaints regarding court condition," she said. "The city is also trying to minimize the amount of 'blowing' due to the poor air quality."

Readers can always call operations at 846-0444 at any time to report any problems they see with the irrigation system or any other problems in the parks. Although the phone is not staffed after hours, they can leave a message and the situation is reported to the crews first thing in the morning.

So good caller, hope that answers all your questions.

Lights are on 24 hours at school

"Red Phone can you see what you can do about the lights that are on day and night at El Roble School in the multi-purpose room? Every night when we drive by there they are all on. Even on the weekends. This is a huge waste of energy. "

Dear What a Waste,

Red Phone contacted Rob Mendiola, facilities manager, who said the district has an energy management system in the multi-purpose room.

"There is obviously a malfunction," Mendiola said. He said crews will investigate.

"Thank you for calling this to our attention," he added.

So good caller, if the lights continuously shine, give Red Phone another call.