Letters to the editor: With water scarce, ban lawn watering

With water scarce, ban lawn watering

Iowa has been shorted on rainfall for the last two years. This year's rainfall has not replenished the subsoil moisture that vegetation depends on in dry conditions.

We are experiencing a drought.

Grass has adapted to survive the ravages of drought by going into a dormant stage during dry conditions. In this state it does not use as much moisture as when it is growing. When the rains come it will come out of its dormant state and get green and start growing again. It is not dead when it loses color.

This is knowledge that we all learned in almost all levels of our science classes. This is knowledge that many members of our Ames administration have also been reminded of.

Why then do city leaders not call for a ban on watering lawns as the first step in trying to protect from having a severe water shortage during a severe drought?

People with their automatically timed water sprinklers do have greener lawns and wetter driveways and sidewalks than their more environmentally conscious neighbors. This also labels them as more irresponsible than those neighbors.

The city of Ames benefits from the extra revenue people pay for their green lawns, but it is likely to spend more than that amount when a water shortage causes us to use extra money to access water for its basic needs.

Margot Eness, Ames

Gartin ought to know city history

In regards to the Aug. 28 story about James Banning, it was indeed remarkable that council member Tim Gartin had never heard of this Ames pioneer before and stated that " relatively no one in this community knows of this person."

Banning's accomplishments have been well documented in recent years, to include an exhibit at the Ames History Museum and in other venues. Perhaps we need a council member who is less tone deaf to the historical accomplishments of Black citizens of this community.

Terry Potter, Ames

More: Ames City Council will consider renaming municipal airport for Black aviator

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Letters: With water scarce during drought, ban lawn watering