JHU water usage restricted by state

The Johns Hopkins University must reduce water usage by 10 percent under restrictions imposed by Gov. Parris Glendening on August 27, 2002.

The Level Two mandatory water use restrictions were announced for counties in the central and eastern regions of Maryland after groundwater and rainfall totals hit record lows.

The restrictions mandate that in order to comply with the drought restrictions, Hopkins will have to refrain from irrigating grass, trees or shrubs that have been in the ground for over 21 days. In other words, if 21 days have passed since sod or plants have been sowed, they may no longer be watered. This will cut back usual usage by five percent.

The other five percent of the reduction will be accomplished by increasing the level of impurities in the cooling towers of campus chiller plants, where water for air-conditioning is cooled. Since fresh water is required to reduce these impurities, allowing them to increase will result in less water being purged out of the towers. This method is safe for individuals, but should only be used temporarily, as impurities could cause deposits and corrosion in the system.

Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs Dennis O'Shea does not expect these measures to affect students on a personal, every-day level and no restrictions will be placed on student water use. On Tuesday, Sep. 3, however, Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell sent an e-mail to all students, informing them of the drought situation and suggesting simple measures students could take to conserve water.

The irrigation restrictions come at a time when Hopkins is making major landscaping changes. Over the past two years, the Homewood campus plan implementation has involved the planting of more than $1 million of trees and shrubs. Concerns over the possible loss of an expensive investment have already called for more advanced irrigation methods.

A computer-controlled weather system is in place, which monitors environmental factors and then irrigates only when and where it is needed. According to Director of Plant Operations and Maintenance David Ashwood, this technology, while very helpful in irrigating efficiently under normal conditions, does little good when water use is restricted. So far, five mature oak and beech trees have been lost.