Amarillo Schools Waste Water On Athletic Fields In Massive Drought

Many schools across the area have their sprinklers set to run twice a day, seven days a week. They are watering athletic fields to this extent in the middle of one of the worst droughts in the Nations history.

Citizens have been asked (and told that they might be required) to ration their water usage at their homes and only water two days a week, for 20 minutes a day. Meanwhile, these schools are wasting a massive amount of water to keep their fields and practice fields green. That's right, they are even watering their practice fields twice a day.

"When people see water running in the middle of the day, we're trying to germinate seed," said Jim Lawson, maintenance director for the Amarillo Independent School District. "We have to water several times a day."

During the 2009 - 2010 school year the schools used more than 250 million gallons of water costing $987,000. Almost $1,000,000 in water usage not to mention a huge drought. This seems to be a huge waste of revenue.

Athletic Director Brad Thiessen said student safety is a major factor in maintaining the quality of the fields.
Fields in poor shape might lead to injuries such as ankle sprains and concussions, Thiessen said.

With this statement and the amount of water they are using on these fields, I expect there to be no injuries or ankle sprains this year.