Sprinklers, Sprinklers Everywhere (But Why?)
Many students have noted in the past month the need to dodge water sprinklers on the way to class. The cause? The college has received less than an inch of rain in the past month and a half. When questioned, Jeff Jabco, Director of Grounds and Coordinator of Horticulture, confirmed that, "we have not received measurable rain in the past three weeks... [and] soil moisture is extremely low." In order to maintain their collections, the Scott Arboretum has deployed sprinklers over much of campus.
Concerns about the use of so much water can be at least partly allayed by the design of the Science Center. Along with the bird-proof windows, the savvy design of the Science Center includes an underground cistern. Rain water and runoff from around the complex is stored in a reservoir beneath the Calder mobile between Martin and Beardsley. It is then used for irrigation throughout that part of campus, which includes the water used in the sprinklers we've been seeing.
Has anything caught your eye on campus? Ask the Gazette! E-mail dailygazette@swarthmore.edu.
Print
Email
#1: 10/5/2007 at 1:58 a.m.
You just know the weather gods are saving all that rain up for the weekend of the Halloween party, so they can dump it on everyone in their skimpy outfits. It's the only possible explanation.
— Finlay Logan | Registered, Swarthmore
#2: 10/5/2007 at 5:35 p.m.
The sprinklers are so pretty in the late-summerish evening light. I need to get better at carrying my camera around.
— Ronni | Unregistered, Swarthmore