Desert Messenger

10 www.DesertMessenger.com July 20, 2022 Gardening with Dennis DROUGHT By Alex Taft Dealing with drought is an issue whether you are a home gardener or in charge of municipal parks. Dennis and I discussed drought on more than one occasion. Dana, the certified arborist who also worked for the Parks Department made ad- justments to the watering systems during times of drought and ex- treme heat as we are experiencing now to help minimize the stress on the trees. We also discussed pos- sible solutions to watering more ef- fectively and each time the conver- sation turned to the use of effluent water. Effluent is the water from a sewer treatment plant that can be filtered and treated adequately to use on golf courses, parks, sports fields and some agricultural crops. Effluent water, properly treated also contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the ingredients in many fertilizers, minimizing the need for purchasing as much fertilizer. To quote authors, Dr. David Kopec, Dr. Charles Mancino, and Douglas Nelson of the University of Arizona at Tucson who wrote, "Using Efflu- ent Water On Your Golf Course"; "….in addition to preventing need- less dumping, a usable effluent wa- ter supply has several other advan- tages. These include (1) guaranteed availability, even during periods of drought, (2) a nutrient content that potentially can lessen dependence on manufactured fertilizers, (3) the freeing of limited supplies of pota- ble water for other, more essential uses, and (4) income, from the sale of effluent water to agricultural us- ers, to pay for the construction of public sewage treatment plants". The authors refer to the millions of gallons of usable treated effluent water as a "recycler's nightmare". There is always a catch, and that is the fact that the effluent has to be treated to a high degree to be used on sports fields, in parks, golf courses and to water landscaped areas. That treatment process is not cheap. The good news is that the cost is fund- able. So why bother? Why not just let the landscape completely return to the desert. There are a few rea- sons. One, trees around your home reduce the air conditioning bills, trees along walking trails encourage exercising and better health, trees and grass in parks along with dog parks help build a community, mo- tivate healthful activities and draw people spend more time outside. If there are trees, there is that inef- fable sense of peace and grace that moves us to plant memory trees and to beautify the community. Effluent is a viable solution to wa- ter conservation, a greener park and the activities that draw people to that park in all seasons. It miti- gates the effects of drought, makes the best use of our resources and does not affect the water table by using potable water. If planned, it is fundable and doable with remark- able results and effluent water is no longer wasted and drought can be manageable. Note: for those who did not know Dennis, he was a part-time employ- ee of the town parks department, a Master Gardener since 1985 and instructor for the Master Gardener Class. He passed away in 2018. Camel Express update The Town of Quartzsite Transit Ser- vice, "Camel Express," has resumed service to Yuma and Lake Havasu City. Service to Yuma is the 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month. Service to Lake Havasu City is now the 2nd & 4th Thursday of each month. Pickups will be- gin at 8:30, the bus will return to Quartzsite about 4:00pm for both routes. Camel Express hours are Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm year around. Drivers begin pickups at 8:30am, our last drop off for in town service is 4:15pm. Passen- gers on out-of-town routes will be dropped off upon returning to town. As of this press release masks are not required but highly recommended for everyone's personal safety. The Camel Express will be giving FREE rides to vote from 10:00am- 2:00pm Tuesday August 2, 2022, for the Primary and Tuesday November 8, 2022, for the General Election The voting location will be Quartzsite Community Center 295 E Chan- dler. Call 928-927-4333 option 3 to schedule your ride to vote. Our Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG) service has expanded now providing free rides to the Senior Center Lunch Program for those passengers on WACOG. WACOG services are available to those sixty or over and full-time residents of Quartzsite. You can ap- ply at Quartzsite Town Hall 465 N. Plymouth or request an application from the driver. Camel Express service to Parker, Ehrenberg and Blythe will remain the same. Camel Express offers two free Food Bank days a month, they are the 2nd Tuesday & 4th Thurs- day of each month, when they fall on a holiday it will be the week be- fore. In town and out of town passes are available and can be purchased from the drivers or at the Town Hall Complex. The cost of a ten ride in- town pass for those sixty and older or people with a disability is $8.50. Due to returning to normal capac- ity of carrying fourteen passengers cooler size will be limited. Cold and shopping bags can also be used. Please limit purchases to five large shopping bags ensuring there is enough room for mobility aids and everyone's purchases, which in- cludes food bank items as well. Currently there is no federal mask requirement in place, but the CDC reminds everyone to continue pro- tecting themselves. Busses will con- tinue to be disinfected daily. The Camel Express is Public Trans- portation open to everyone, as such passengers should not leave their belongings (mail, groceries, pre- scriptions, shopping bags, wallets, phones) on the bus. Camel Express is not responsible for lost or stolen items. Comment Cards & Surveys are located on the busses please share your input. Call 928-927-4333 option 3 to schedule your ride! Enjoy your ride on the Camel Express! The winner of the June Quartzsite Shop Small Bingo raffle is Mark Gold- berg. He achieved Blackout Bingo and submitted his entry with pictures of each store via email. Using the Quartzsite Shop Small Facebook group made it easy for him to know the days and hours stores were open. The August cards will be available at participating merchants and on Facebook. August entries are due by noon Saturday, August 6th. July prizes were donated by Roadrunner Rocks, Mystic Dreams, Ken's Grp- cery Outlet and the Quartzsite Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. The Chamber is located at 1240 W. Main Street, across from McDonald's. We're open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10am-2pm. 928-927-5200. Quartzsite Shop Small Bingo July Winner Desert Messenger News offers FREE Classified Ads! Here's the small print: Items for sale under $1000. Private Party Only. 1 per month. Yard/Garage/Craft Sales, Wanted, Give-a-ways, Free, Lost & Found, etc. (non-commercial) For more information, contact Rain at 928-916-4235 or Email: Editor@DesertMessenger.com

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