Rancho San Rafael Regional Park has a massive $1.2 million irrigation project that has turned a good portion of the park into a construction zone. Reno Youth Radio’s Veronica Garcia paid a visit to find out what is going on.
If you walk around Rancho San Rafael right now, there are pink stakes stuck in the mud, tractors, and lines drawn all over the grass.
“People are asking, 'What are these stakes for, what are these cones for?'”
Colleen Wallace Barnun is the district manager for the park. She pulls out a big map and shows me how big the project really is.
“All new lines and sprinkler heads, so everything you see here is going to be new.”
But why are they doing this?
“So, it was well overdue.”
She says the irrigation system that kept the grass green was really old, from 1981, more than 30 years old, and they want to be more efficient with water.
“Yes, we need to get these done, and let's put the money towards this now before it fails and we have to spend even more money to repair.”
In the past, they had to buy water from the city. With the new improvements, that won’t be as necessary and she hopes it will save money for taxpayers. She expects to have everything back to normal by mid-May.
Reno Youth Radio is a partnership between KUNR and the Washoe County School District to put student voices on air.
