MCWD to partner on Gateway
“Would the Water District consider installing and maintaining a demonstration garden of drought-tolerant plants at the south Gateway monument?” asked Mammoth Gateway Community Project volunteer organizer Elizabeth Tenney and Project sponsor Mono County Supervisor Byng Hunt at the Mammoth Community Water District (MCWD) Board of Directors July meeting.
“A demonstration garden is something the District has wanted to do for some time.
This site (next to the new courthouse as you enter town on the left-hand side) is open, sunny and available,” said Greg Norby, MCWD General Manager.
Tenney told the Water Board that Hector Gonzalez, Court Executive Officer for the Mono County Superior Court announced at the Noon Mammoth Lakes Rotary meeting on June 23 that, “Landscape irrigation for the Gateway site will be supplied through the Courthouse meter.”
“The Court’s very generous contribution is much appreciated,” added Tenney, who had begun a Gateway Project presentation to Noon Rotary when Gonzalez made his announcement.
The added cost of installing a new meter and water system connection for the Gateway site, when the adjacent Courthouse has a meter dedicated exclusively to irrigation, had been a concern for MCWD General Manager Norby.
The Water Board’s response was positive. While the Board has not yet taken formal action, it agreed on July 21 to become a partner in the Mammoth Gateway Community Project by installing and maintaining attractive landscaping in front of the south Gateway monument sign.
The Gateway’s landscaping will thus do double duty by also serving as a water-conservation demonstration garden of native and drought-tolerant plants.
“The demonstration garden will include plant identification tags, pathways and a bench,” Norby said. “The Water District wants to promote sustainable, aesthetic landscaping in the community.”
For the Gateway’s future landscaping, the Administrative Office of the Courts has provided a stubbed-off connection to the irrigation system for the aspens recently planted along the bike path embankment leading to the tunnel under Hwy 203.
–Press Release
