Local water companies urge customers to conserve amid sweltering heat - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

Local water companies urge customers to conserve amid sweltering heat

Capital Region water companies are urging their customers to limit their water usage amid the continuing extreme heat and drought, which is causing unprecedented demands on the local water system.

The Baton Rouge Water Company, Parish Water Company, and Ascension Water Company on Friday afternoon released a statement asking customers to immediately limit their water use.

“With no end in sight of the extreme weather conditions this summer, the company is instituting its contingency plan which calls for water conservation measures,” the announcement notes.

To cut water usage, the companies suggest residents not water their lawns more than once or twice a week. It also discourages watering lawns between peak usage hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

“Typically, we only see the current level of demand following a hard freeze when pipes burst, and that freeze driven demand is short-lived: a few days at most,” says Patrick Kerr, president of the companies. “The Baton Rouge Water Company, Parish Water Company, and Ascension Water Company have always maintained adequate water service pressures, even during hurricanes, droughts and freezes. The stresses caused by the current ongoing and record-breaking heat, and the complete lack of rain, are causing never before seen high demands on the water system.”

While Kerr stresses that the water system is currently sound, he warns that the system may not be able to maintain pressures that customers are accustomed to if the demand continues to increase.

“Water is a precious resource,” he says. “Please do not waste it by watering at the wrong times or more than a couple times a week.”

See the full announcement.