Sprinklers continue to wash cars and concrete

By Laurel O’KeefeStaff writer Sprinklers can still be seen watering campus sidewalks and building walls despite Hofstra’s efforts to become more ‘green.’ As advertised on the webpage for the Office of Sustainability, Hofstra University was recognized by The Princeton Review Guide to 332 Green Colleges for 2014 for a “strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation.” Water usage and conservation is a major factor of sustainability on every college campus. At Hofstra, the sprinkler system is an area where some students feel sustainability could be improved. “I see the sprinklers running every morning and every night and I don’t think it’s really necessary,” said freshman music merchandising major Amber Donaldson. “We get enough rain here that [sprinklers] are not really necessary except for maybe during the summer.” However, according to the Director of Grounds and Landscaping Fred Soviero, the sprinkler system is not supposed to run in the same zones everyday unless it is required because of weather conditions. “In the spring we put them on for 20 minutes every third day. As we get into the summer and weeks go by with no rain, we have to increase how long they run and how often,” said Soviero. “The only places you see them running everyday would be on turfs or athletic fields,” he said. Hofstra’s campus is an arboretum, meaning it is home to an extensive variety of plant life cultivated for scientific, educational and ornamental reasons. Maintaining this plant life while also maximizing sustainability proves to be a challenge. “I feel like they overwater the plants because when I see sprinklers on, [the plant beds] look totally drenched,” said freshman mass communication major Nichole Bingham. “It’s almost as if they’re drowning the plants and they should cut back on that.” Campus sprinklers also function from late night into the early morning. This is one factor, along with the placement of each sprinkler head, that accounts for the efficiency of the system. “I’ve definitely seen [sprinklers] water the sidewalk. They also water at night which isn’t efficient because, as any botanist will tell you, the stomata of the plant that receives water for the plant is closed at night so it’s not going to be getting as much water as it should be if the stomata was open, which happens during the daytime,” said the president of the sustainability club, Jacob Sacket. “[Hofstra] waters a lot of stuff at night which I understand is out of convenience for students, but also is a waste of water and isn’t effective.” Where effectivity is concerned, in the past, sprinklers were observed by students watering plants during times of rain. “When I was driving I saw [the sprinklers] on when it was raining out which was a little weird,” said sophomore education major, Olivia Hammer. According to Soviero, the system is not designed to run during rain. “I think we do a really good [job] with what we have. We updated the clocks and rain sensors. It detects moisture in the air,” said Soviero. “If [the sprinkler system] goes on in the rain it’s because the battery is dead. A week ago it was running in the middle of the day and in the middle of the rain so we called the company to figure out the problem.” As for sprinklers that hit the sidewalk or are broken, Facilities and Operations tries to stay on top of the issue. “We try to design irrigation systems so they only hit beds with plants but it isn’t always possible to do that,” said Soviero. “We are aware that they are occasionally misdirected and we try to fix them. There are thousands of [sprinkler] heads on campus and a number of things can happen to them. My grounds guys look for them and when we see it we try to fix it.”