River path aesthetics

The aesthetics of the river path vary along its route....  You get lovely power washed sidewalks through downtown reno.

 

You get long open stretches of trail along the river.

 

You also get some areas that aren't getting the attention they need.  Case in point....

The section of the trail is just past Fisherman's park along Galletti Way.  For some reason, the sprinkler system was shut down this summer just along this section.  If you look carefully you can see the grass turns green just past the orange construction cone (that's been sitting there for 4 months).  

Don't get me wrong, it's Reno (or in this case Sparks) and I understand that grass is not a practical ground cover in the desert.  This location has been left for so long however, the large trees are starting to die.  And if you ride this path in the summer you will seriously appreciate any shade you can get....not to mention they've been here for about a hundred years (just a couple but still).  

Now stepping up on my official soap box....

So what gives Sparks?  I know the sprinkler system leaked before....it still leaks water across the path as you can see.  It used to leak and water the grass and trees, now it just leaks.  Forget the grass....throw down some grus (dg) whatever, but at least fix the system or replace it with a drip system so the trees don't die.  I like the shade while riding in the summer, but if they all die then we get to spend more money to cut them all down, chip them up, and transport them (probably to a land fill).  Is that really the intelligent thing to do??  So fix the watering system!!!!

Ok, stepping off soap box.

The sad part is it's probably already to late.  I've been noticing it all summer and just didn't get around to gripping to a real person.  I just sent an email last week to the only contact I know in Sparks (a city engineer).  Good news is it's been raining a bit...and winter looks like it might be early.  Maybe they'll hang tough until someone actually works on it!