Public Hearing Monday night on irrigation regs

The public will get a say Monday night about revisions to the Town Code dealing with irrigation use on the Island.

It’s a subject that has been kicked around for years by previous Town Boards with an intent of regulating or banning them. A previous Water Advisory Committee opted not to ban them immediately to give those who had paid to install them time to get some use from their investment. But in recent years, the WAC has had a subcommittee working on the subject and its members have advised a code change affecting their use.

The revisions require that all irrigation systems must:

• Receive permits for operation that must be renewed annually.

• For new systems, applications must provide the layout and source of the water supply, clock controller, location of the master control valve, a rain sensor and moisture sensor and, if connected to a public water supply system, the location of the backflow prevention device.

• Certification by a licensed irrigation contractor that the system meets Town Code with respect to the estimated water consumption per cycle.

• Proof a cistern has been filled with trucked-in water.

To avoid systems running during rain, they must have a sensor that will shut them down after 1/4-inch of rain has fallen

The full draft of the proposed changes appears on the Town website.

Monday night’s hearing is set for 6 p.m. but as regular Board watchers know, prior to public hearings, members act on resolutions; once public hearings begin, the irrigation changes are expected to be first.