Friday, March 29, 2024

Recent Rain Helps City Water Situation, But the Heat is Back

The relief the City experienced from the rain last Saturday is officially over.  Wednesday, users consumed more than 20 million gallons of water and Thursday the consumer almost 18.5 million gallons.

“The rain helped our efforts to replenish the ground storage tanks around the City,” said Deputy Public Works Director Chuck Kendrick.  “But we need more to help us get through the rest of the summer.  “Day after day of high temperatures stresses our ability to replenish the storage tanks, the rain helps bring relief since most irrigation systems have rain gauges and automatically shut off when triggered. ”

Kendrick also notes that the City still could go to Stage II restrictions.  “Most people are responding really well to the Stage 1 restrictions and making the necessary changes to their watering systems.  But we still need people to decrease the amount of water that’s being used for irrigation, especially if the triple digit temperatures continue.  If our water tank levels fall below a certain point for three days in a row, then we could go to Stage 2.”

More than 100 citations and 900 warnings have been issued since the implementation of stage 1 on July 25th.  Many of the warnings have been issued because the timer on the irrigation systems was set incorrectly.  “We would really like people to double check their timers to make sure that they are running at the correct times,” said Environmental Coordinator Christi Upton.  “If the irrigation system starts too early or ends after midnight the next day, the City may have to issue a warning or even a citation. ”

More than 51 days of triple digit temperatures have been recorded.   “It’s one of the reasons why we are having such a hard time keeping the tanks full,” said Kendrick.  In past years when we were forced to implement Stage I restrictions Mother Nature helped us out with rain.  This year, we are asking people to cut down on their use because the weather isn’t helping us as it has in years past. ”

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Public Works Director Bob Price gave an update on the City’s current water situation and conservation efforts.  The presentation is available on the player below.

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