Columbia Utilities proposes a city-wide irrigation ordinance

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

City of Columbia Utilities is proposing an irrigation ordinance to manage water use across the community. The department believes this move would also help to support ongoing commercial and residential growth in the area.

City utilities wrote on its BeHeard page that Columbia’s daily summer peak water demands can exceed 170% of winter water demands, with the highest hourly demand in the summer sitting at around 240% of the peak winter hourly demand. The utility is looking to have two public input meetings before bringing the ordinance to the City Council.

The proposed ordinance would stagger lawn watering to specific days and times, so users can reduce the peak demand on the water system. City officials believe it will also reduce the total amount of water used and allow lawn irrigation systems to operate more effectively within their designed parameters.

Watering schedules are based on physical property address and apply to residential and commercial customers using city water, according to city documents. Irrigation is permitted on the allowed watering day before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m. for a maximum of 30 minutes per irrigation zone.

Even-numbered addresses would be able to use irrigation systems on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, odd-numbered addresses on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and common areas, mixed addresses or locations with no address can water Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Exceptions to the ordinance, according to city documents, include:

• Irrigation of land used for commercial agriculture.
• Watering by hand using an attended hose.
• Low-flow, low-pressure systems designed to distribute small amounts of water on or below the soil surface are allowed at any time necessary to meet needs.
• Irrigation of new landscape is allowed at any time for the initial 30 days and every other day for the next 30 days for a total of one 60-day period.
• Watering in of chemicals, including insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides, is allowed within 24 hours of application.
• Irrigation systems may run up to 30 minutes at any time of day for irrigation system maintenance and repair purposes.
• Watering for new plant material, such as flowers, trees and shrubs, on the day of planting.
• Watering to preserve turf subject to heavy public use.
• The use of recycled or reclaimed water is allowed anytime.

City of Columbia Utilities may grant a different exception from the required schedule under certain circumstances.

Any customer who purchases and installs an automatic landscape irrigation system shall properly install, maintain, and operate:

• A water meter dedicated to landscape irrigation, which shall be separate and apart from the water meter serving non-irrigation needs of the property.
• A backflow prevention device, installed at the point of connection between the landscape irrigation system and the city water system.
• Technology that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture or rainfall.

Consumers with irrigation systems installed prior to the effective date of the ordinance shall be subject to the ordinance requirements upon making neccessary repairs, upgrades or changes.

The first violation comes with a $50 fine, the second violation is $250 and the third violation includes a $350 fine with the customer subject to suspension or disconnection of water utility service for irrigation.

The City of Columbia Water Utility, Office of Neighborhood Services, Columbia Police Department and any other agent of the City authorized to will help enforce the ordinance.

Water pressure issues have been seen particularly in the southwest portion of the city in recent years, with boil advisories having been issued in the Thornbrook area. A water tower was expected to have been built by 2021, but a variety of issues, including discussions of where it could be built, have occurred in the past few years.