With RAGBRAI coming, Storm Lake orders residents to conserve water - Des Moines Register

With RAGBRAI coming, Storm Lake orders residents to conserve water

Storm Lake issues order to conserve water with RAGBRAI riders rolling into town Sunday
Donnelle Eller

With upwards of 40,000 people ― nearly four times Storm Lake's population ― due to arrive on Sunday with RAGBRAI, the city is requiring residents to reduce water use because of the shutdown of two of its deep wells.

Storm Lake officials issued the mandatory water conservation order Tuesday, restricting when residents can water lawns and flower beds, wash their cars and fill pools. The city also is prohibiting using water when cleaning driveways or sidewalks, power-washing buildings and laying sod.

In addition, the King's Pointe resort announced it will close its indoor and outdoor water parks while the riders are in town. And city spokesperson Dana Larsen said Tyson Foods, one of Storm Lake's largest employers and water user, will close its pork plant Sunday. Tyson also operates a turkey processing plant in Storm Lake.

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The conservation order was to remain in effect for two weeks, but “if well repairs and demand allow, the mandatory period could possibly be lifted a little before the two-week period expires,” City Manager Keri Navratil told City Council on Monday.

Already, one of the sidelined wells has been repaired and the second could be back online by Friday, relieving the water pressure, Larsen said Wednesday.

The city doesn't anticipate its water challenges will affect RAGBRAI's overnight stop, he said. "We've been working on this since January," Larsen said.

The city told residents water conservation was "necessary as two of the city's water wells are currently out of commission pending necessary and unforeseen repairs, limiting the amount of water that can be pumped."

“The situation puts stress on the other wells as they run at capacity to keep up with demand,” the city said, adding that “conservation will help ensure that water resources are adequate for everyone through this period, while maintaining the necessary reserve for fire suppression."

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Residents violating the order could face $75 fines.

The city’s water use averages about 3.4 million gallons daily, Larsen said, and peak summer water use can climb to the city’s maximum of 5 million gallons per day.

Larsen said the restrictions and the well problems were not the result of drought, though the city issued a voluntary conservation order in June, due to hot, dry weather. Last summer, the city issued a mandatory conservation order in when the area was under fairly severe drought, and water use spiked to 4.5-5 million gallons per day.

Storm Lake is investigating building an additional water tower and drilling more wells to "increase capacity as the community continues to grow," Larsen said.