Photo: FLLewis / Media City G — Sprinklers on during midday David Starr Jordan Middle School in Burbank September 7, 2015
Quick action by some officials in the Burbank Unified School District have turned a call out into a shout out for some watering issues at David Starr Jordan Middle School, 420 South Mariposa Street. Burbank school officials got called out on Media City Groove for watering the front lawn at Jordan on a hot Labor Day, two weeks ago. Not only were the sprinklers going full force, but the watering occurred on Monday. Burbank allows outside irrigation only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. (FYI, recycled water is exempt from these restrictions).
Photo courtesy Burbank USD Steve Ferguson Burbank Unified School District Board
Newly elected school board member/clerk, Steve Ferguson, got the ball rolling by launching an investigation “to ensure that we are following best watering practices in this situation.” Ferguson enlisted the cooperation of Superintendent, Matt Hill, and Craig Bell, Director of Facilities. It took only a few days for that probe to make an important discovery.
On Friday, September 11, Craig Bell, Director of Facilities BUSD, said this in an email: “Last Saturday BWP had a planned power shutdown at Jordan between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. This affected the control clock for the irrigation to the front yard at Jordan and threw the timing sequence off by voiding the memory of the clock. This slipped by our team to re-set the controller after the power was restored. Since this was a holiday weekend it was not noticed until after Fronnie Lewis’s photos were taken. We have ordered a new controller to replace this older style so issues like this can be avoided in the future.”
Bell added that until the new controller gets installed, the watering of that section will be handled manually. They use potable water for the front and side yards at the school, the rest of the landscape is kept green with reclaimed or recycled water.
This speedy reaction saved water and probably money in the long run. The officials involved deserve some kudos along with a shout out from Media City Groove.
