‘Inching closer to Stage 2′: Wichita water customers urged to conserve as possible restrictions loom - KWCH
‘Inching closer to Stage 2′: Wichita water customers urged to conserve as possible restrictions loom
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The City of Wichita is on the verge of entering Stage 2 of its drought response plan. At that stage, water conservation becomes mandatory.
Communications Manager Megan Lovely said the city began planning for Stage 2 last year and started implementing water-saving practices.
“We’re using recycled water to water the trees that we plant. We’re planting drought-resistant grasses and shutting off city-owned decorative fountains along with other measures,” Lovely said.
The drought stage is determined by the 12-month average water levels at Cheney Lake Reservoir. The current 12-month average level is at 71.3%. Once the level is 50%-69% of the conservation pool, Wichita will enter Stage 2 of the current drought plan.
The city adopted the plan in October 2013 following the 2011-13 drought. Since then, Lovely said the city has made changes to improve its drought resiliency. She said that will continue to improve once the new water treatment plant is operational.
“Some additional progress includes treatment capabilities, and the initiation of the projects, like the rehabilitation of local well fields, added aquifer storage and recovery recharge capacities,” she said.
At Tuesday’s Wichita City Council meeting, city staff will present proposed changes to the drought response plan, allowing the city manager, guided by staff recommendations, to determine the best time to move Wichita into Stage 2.
In Stage 2, voluntary conservation efforts become mandatory. One restriction would limit lawn and garden watering to once a week. Wichita Water customers who don’t comply could be fined.
“So, in terms of enforcement, once mandatory restrictions go in place, if that’s what happens, would include a level of sliding schedule of penalties that are included in the ordinance,” said Don Henry, assistant director of utilities for Wichita Public Works. “(It would) start out at a $50 fine and go up from the for repeated violations. There’d be one “get out of jail free card” with a warning. (The) first violation would be a warning.”
Henry said the water department can monitor usage through its integrated water and billing system. He said there are trends or an uptick in usage during the irrigation season. The city can see when that spikes.
“So, we can look at each individual account and tell when people are irrigating,” Henry said. “We compare their usage to their wintertime base usage.”
With that information, Lovely said now is the time to conserve water because Stage 2 is coming.
“Water your lawns in the evenings or early mornings. Consider making small changes such as shutting off faucets when you brush your teeth, taking shorter showers and finding other smart ways to conserve water in your home and business,” Lovely said.
You can find more on the city’s drought response plan here: https://www.wichita.gov/501/Drought-Update
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