The City of Wichita is continuing Stage 2 of its drought response plan, which restricts outdoor watering to one day a week. All water customers are being urged to continue to find ways to cut back on water usage. Even though the outdoor irrigation season is coming to a close, there are still ways to save water by changing some daily habits. The city said 302 warning letters have been issued to water customers who were reported to be watering outside of their allocated day, and water use in the community is starting to increase. Before stage 2 restrictions, weekly highest water use was around 74 million gallons a day (MGD). The first week of restrictions, weekly highest water use was just over 55 MGD. Last week, the highest water usage was 64 MGD. During the last two months, efforts on education were prioritized over issuing fines. Going forward, staff plans to increase enforcement, including issuance of fines if warranted, while still continuing educational efforts on ways to cut back on water use. Stage 3 of the drought response will be discussed by city officials if water levels within Cheney’s conservation pool reach a 12-month average of below 50%. In stage 3, all outdoor watering for non-exempt customers is prohibited. This would include lawn and non-vegetable garden watering, private pool use and more. Source: 101.3 KFDI
