Scotland Restricts Water Use

SCOTLAND — With the town’s water supply running dangerously low, the Scotland City Council has enacted water restrictions until further notice.

The council acted last week, enacting a ban for a time on outdoor watering before moving to restrictions that started Monday. The restrictions apply to lawns, landscaping, gardens and irrigation systems.

In a Facebook post, Mayor Randy Thum said Friday the restrictions are a response to protecting public safety.

“Last night, our underground tank was virtually empty, and we had about 10,000 gallons in the tower,” he said. “So, we had no choice other than to stop outside watering, or we would have no water to fight a fire.”

Watering is not allowed between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Addresses with odd numbers can water on odd-numbered days of the month, and even-numbered addresses can water on the even-numbered days. Hand watering is allowed anytime.

Because of initial backlash to the restrictions, Thum said he felt the need to address the issue.

“I don’t normally post city information on my personal (Facebook) page,” he said. “However, I’ve gotten some questions have seen some posts criticizing the city about our water restrictions and want to address the situation.”

Thum explained the dire situation that led to the city’s actions.

“Our water tower holds 60,000 gallons, and we have an underground tank that holds 40,000 gallons. BY (Water District) water flow to our tower is 230 gallons a minute. We have an industry in town that uses 250,000 gallons a day,” the mayor said.

“When we have extreme dry conditions, we all use our outdoor water system more. So you can tell, by doing the math, we will run short every day and won’t be able to recoup without restrictions.”

Thum said he realized the feelings of property owners who want to water their grass during the drought. However, he said the situation has forced serious actions.

“I have a lawn that I’d like to keep nice, also, but I’m going to choose fire safety over a green lawn every time,” the mayor said.

“There is no easy answer to fix this problem. Sorry for the inconvenience, but when you turn on your water faucet and are able to get a drink of water, I hope it helps you understand.”

The Press & Dakotan sought additional updates or comments from Thum and from the city finance office Monday but had not received a response as of press time.

Terry Wootton, the manager of B-Y Water District, told the Press & Dakotan that his system has not curtailed any water supply to the City of Scotland.

“I would assume it must be an issue with city use or demand on their system,” he said.

In addition, B-Y has continued its regular service even with the severe drought, Wootton said.

“B-Y has not curtailed customers due to the current weather issues,” he said.

 Meanwhile, the prolonged drought doesn’t show any signs of improvement.

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report, released last Thursday, shows all of southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska in either severe or extreme drought. A stretch of far eastern Nebraska, from roughly Sioux City to Omaha, is listed as abnormally dry.

The extreme drought designation now covers all or parts of Charles Mix, Douglas, Bon Homme, Hutchinson and Yankton counties in South Dakota and Knox, Cedar, Antelope, Boyd and Holt counties in Nebraska.

The National Weather Service (NWS) outlook calls for better chances for more widespread showers and thunderstorms tonight (Tuesday) into Wednesday morning.

While the severe weather potential is low at this time (10%), an occasional strong wind gust up to 50 miles per hour (mph) will be possible with some activity.

The middle of the week calls for dry weather, with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday and a 30% chance of showers Sunday.

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