A sprinkler seen spraying the lawn of Morley Field during Saturday’s record rainfall has prompted outrage among several passersby, who say the city isn’t being held to the same drought restrictions.
During Saturday’s rainstorm, Josh Wert was walking his dog by Morley Field and saw the sprinkler system watering the already-soaked lawn.
Miffed, Wert snapped a few photos to share with NBC 7.
The active sprinklers were a direct violation of the state’s water restrictions banning watering lawns within 48 hours of measurable rain.
A Parks and Recreation official told NBC 7 lawn watering wasn’t intentional – rather, the problem was caused by a broken automated control system with the sprinklers.
The system isn’t scheduled to run on weekends, so officials believe some type of electrical malfunction caused the spraying.
“It seems like a logical explanation, but it seems as if the city never acts unless the citizens actually speak out and bring stories like this to light,” Wert said.
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Further, Wert said he saw a City of San Diego water truck drive by the park when the sprinklers had been running for an hour.
“There’s definitely no excuse for the guy to be sitting in his truck and no taking care of the issue,” Wert said.
Just like with private citizens, the city was issued a warning and could only be fined upon violating the law multiple times.
