Warnings issued on first day of Fishers watering ban

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) - On the first day a watering ban went into effect in Fishers, Code Enforcement officers were already cracking down on violators.

Monday, Fishers inspectors issued 14 warnings to those violating the ban on lawn watering and other unnecessary water usage. Those warnings included six written, five verbal and three emails sent to homeowners associations.

Under the town’s emergency ordinance, water use is prohibited to water lawns, wash vehicles at home, fill empty swimming pools and clean sidewalks and structures.

Officials said this order applies to all Fishers residents receiving water from sources other than wells. 24-Hour News 8 didn’t find any violators, but we did find some doing the maximum allowed by the ordinance.

“You’ve got to do what you got to do,” said Jim Abel, a Fishers resident. “A lot of people put a lot of money into landscaping, so you don’t want to lose it.”

Another area resident, Jennifer Krauser, echoed that.

“I’m trying to water as little as possible at the very low maintenance to keep them. I just spent a lot of money last year re-landscaping, as well as a sprinkler system,” she said.

Fishers Town Manager Scott Fadness told us Code Enforcement officers will be handing out warnings first. If a resident is caught violating the ban a second time, he or she will be issued a $500 fine for every offense after that.

The town itself is taking a simple step to conserve water. It's using TreeGators, a bag-based system for slowly releasing water for trees.

The bags can be seen wrapped around many of the young trees planted in medians along 116th Street. Crews started placing them Monday and are planning to complete the process Tuesday.

The town bought about 200 of the bags. Fishers Town Manager Scott Fadness said the bags will be filled with water from a well.

“It takes watering to a more effective level,” he said. “It directs the water right down to the root ball where it’s most effective, and we get away basically with only having to water twice a week.”

The bags are available at landscaping supply stores. Fishers officials said they bought them for $14 a bag. The bags come in 15- and 20-gallon sizes