If the Village asks residents to conserve water by watering their lawns only in the early morning and evening hours, shouldn't it do the same itself?

That was the question recently raised by a resident who was concerned about daytime watering at the St. Paul's School Recreation Complex.

"The resident had a very good point because the Village wants to strongly encourage water conservation by all homeowners and businesses," Mayor Peter A. Bee said. "In fact, the village does conserve water and the daytime watering that the resident saw was an attempt by our Recreation Department to find and fix several broken sprinkler systems.

"We had to turn the entire system on so we could find the broken ones. But that's the exception; the athletic fields are normally watered each evening and throughout the night. Occasionally, in a very prolonged dry spell, there may be periodic daytime watering so the Village does not lose large sections of the turf that our young people depend on for our extensive athletic program."

Bee also added that the water used on the fields is water drawn from the shallow Glacial Aquifer that is not fit for drinking standards. The water is drawn from a well on the Middle School grounds. Local golf courses also use the same non-potable water for their courses.

"Garden City spends millions each year to assure that our residents receive clean drinking water and everybody should pitch in and help us do this more effectively and more cost-effectively by watering their lawns only in the early morning and the evenings," Bee said.