Tucson Fire Department personnel get a woman out of a car pinned to the culvert by monsoon runoff in a wash.
Question: I heard that Arizona has a law called the “Stupid Motorist Law.” Is that true?
Answer: Yes, it’s true.
Sometimes the rain is so abundant that our hard soil can’t quickly soak it up, therefore we experience flash floods. Every time we experience heavy rainfall, the washes flood. Despite barricades being placed at flood zones with signs stating, “DO NOT CROSS,” inevitably, people ignore them, try to cross, and need to be rescued. Thus, the term and law.
A. A driver of a vehicle who drives the vehicle on a public street or highway that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, and that is barricaded because of flooding is liable for the expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the public street or highway the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway or the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway, or both.
B. A person convicted of violating section 28-693 for driving a vehicle into any area that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, may be liable for expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the area the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area or the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area, or both.
Learn more at azleg.gov/ars/28/00910.htm.
Q: I just moved here from the Bay Area. What are the first things you suggest I do with my house?
A: Maintaining a home in Arizona, particularly in the desert areas, is different than maintaining one in non-desert climates.
Water: Arizona’s water is so hard that we nearly need a knife and fork to drink it.
The USGS explains that hardness is caused by compounds of calcium and magnesium, and by a variety of other metals. General guidelines for the classification of waters are 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard.
The “hardness” of the water flowing into your home depends on how many grains of the minerals it contains per gallon. This is called grains per gallon, or GPG.
Water that contains more than 1 GPG is considered somewhat “hard;” water with more than 10.5 GPG is very hard. A typical glass of Arizona water has at least 15 GPG.
Hard water is hard on the plumbing and fixtures. Plus, the mineral deposits are a pain to remove if they build up.
Do yourself a favor and invest in a water treatment system. A water softener removes the minerals that make your water “hard” all over the house. An activated carbon charcoal filter on a reverse osmosis (RO) system will finish the job of removing floaties and chlorine.
Supercooling: We tend to turn on our air conditioning units as early as March and sometimes don’t turn them off until October. It can get expensive if you constantly adjust the temperature. Keep your electric bill in check by supercooling your home. Here’s how:
Make sure you are on a time-of-use power plan.
Turn your AC down as low as you can stand it (68-74 degrees) during your off-peak hours. This will cool your whole house down to the studs. It will cool the walls, the clothing in your closets, and the carpet under the couch. That way when your off-peak hours are over, that cooling will last and carry you through your on-peak hours.
Turn your AC up as high as you can stand it (78-85 degrees) during your on-peak hours. This will allow your AC to shut off and save you money during the most expensive time of day. The coolness you built up during your off-peak hours should last you well into the evening before your AC needs to cool you down again.
During the on-peak time, try your best to not run other appliances, heat up the house by cooking, or leave doors open for extended periods. Lock in that cool air.
Make sure your pumps and electric water heaters are timed to never turn on during peak hours.
Have your home inspected with a whole-house energy audit or home performance audit.
An energy specialist will take an in-depth look at your home’s typical and atypical energy loss points. Using thermal imaging technology to see what the unaided eye can’t, a series of tests will be conducted to ensure that the gas appliances are properly working, and the windows and doors are not drafty. Once the specialist knows exactly where your home’s energy loss is coming from, they will tell you what you can do to solve the problem.
Shade: Shade is at a premium in Arizona. It’s not unheard of for us to circle a parking lot for 10 minutes to look for a parking spot in the shade.
Keep a window shade in your car. If you do a lot of driving, add the roll-down shades that you can place on the side windows to keep the sun from penetrating through the glass.
Invest in shade screens for your home.
Shade sails are popular. They are not a DIY project and should be designed by a licensed structural engineer. If they are bolted to a fascia, they can rip the entire fascia off the house in the event of high winds. If poles are used to support a sail, they require massive footings to keep them from being pulled out of the ground in high winds.
Dust: Invest in a quality duster. You will be amazed at how much dust will accumulate in your home every week, especially when you keep the windows open. Take it a step further and install an air purifier in your home.
Dust storms are common, and they can come on quickly. It is essential that you know what to do when driving in a dust storm.
Q: I am new to Tucson. What suggestions do you have when spending time outdoors?
A: Avoid long walks and hikes in the high heat of midday.
If you go for a hike at any time, take much, much more than a 16-ounce bottle of water. You may think you like the heat, but it doesn’t take long for heat stroke to occur.
Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen.
Also, always carry cold, fresh water everywhere, especially in the hotter months. It is critical that you stay hydrated. Consider keeping a cooler in your car so you always have cold water available. A cooler is also helpful when going grocery shopping.
Don’t go out barefoot to the mailbox in July, otherwise, you will give Usain Bolt a run for his money!
Keep a towel in your car, even oven mitts. In the summer, our cars are hotter than Mount Vesuvius. Place a towel on your seat and over the shift. Put a cover on the steering wheel.
Always keep a light sweater in your car. Restaurants and theaters crank up the AC.
Never leave your pets unattended in the car. Not only is it inhumane, but it is also against the law. Under A.R.S. 13-2910, it is considered animal cruelty if a person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly leaves an animal unattended and confined in a motor vehicle and physical injury to or death of the animal is likely to result.
Walk your dog early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the hottest part of the day. If your dog must go outside on the pavement, midday during the hottest months, use protective paw booties.
Make sure your pets have plenty of cold, fresh water all day, every day.
Don’t leave pets unattended outside. Coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, hawks and owls can easily scoop them away from your yard.
An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert since 1988, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio broadcast, heard locally from 10 to 11 a.m. on KNST (790-AM) in Tucson and from 8 to 11 a.m. on KGVY (1080-AM) and (100.7-FM) in Green Valley.
Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion
Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community.
Sign up for our Tucson Garden Guide newsletter and get helpful desert gardening info sent to your inbox twice a month
Showerheads, sod and woodpeckers were this week’s most popular DIY topics.
If you're a homeowner in Arizona, these are some of the things that you should — and shouldn't — be doing.
Whether it's pricing, timelines or the mess that comes with a remodel, home improvement shows don't necessarily accurately depict the process.
It is important that you act quickly to remove any spills, otherwise, it is much more difficult to remove paint.
When it comes to buying windows (and doors for that matter), there are a few things you need to consider.
For most people, duct cleaning has no benefit unless it's part of a thorough cleaning of your entire air conditioning system by a licensed technician.
Choosing between the two styles for your home can boil down to several key factors.
In a time of drought, it's important to commit to at least one thing to conserve water and to learn about water conservation programs.
Tucson Fire Department personnel get a woman out of a car pinned to the culvert by monsoon runoff in a wash.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.