ORIGINAL 11:42 AM REPORT: The city’s asking you to use less water – in hopes of holding off mandatory restrictions. Here’s the announcement made this morning, in conjunction with two of the region’s other major cities:
After unusually hot weather, the region’s all-time driest May-July and in preparation of a potentially drier-than-normal fall, Everett, Seattle and Tacoma have moved to the second stage of their water shortage response plans — voluntary reduction.
The voluntary stage has been enacted because the potential for a water supply shortage continues to increase.
The three cities are working together to manage water supplies for people and fish during the drought and higher-than-normal water use. They are asking customers for their help by voluntarily reducing their water use by 10 percent starting today.
(ANNOUNCEMENT CONTINUES BELOW – ALSO, SEATTLE PARKS CONSERVATION INFO ADDED)
“Seattle customers know it is important to manage their water use during these dry conditions,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. “Today we are asking residents and businesses to continue to reduce water use both indoors and outdoors.”
People who want to find out how well the region is meeting the 10 percent goal can visit www.savingwater.org. The three cities plan to publish the first update the week of Aug. 24.
“We are confident our customers will be able to reduce their water use by 10 percent,” said Everett’s Mayor, Ray Stephanson. “We are asking for this reduction to ensure that we have enough water for both people and fish.”
Ways people can reduce their water use:· Let your lawn go dormant and limit plant watering to twice a week – Doing this at home and at businesses can make a big difference.
· Water plants before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. — If you are watering, do it during this timeframe to reduce the impact of evaporation.
· Reduce your showering time at home, work, and the gym
· Check for and fix leaks now, including checking your toilets for silent leaks
· Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes
· Find more water saving tips at www.savingwater.org
“We are counting on all Tacoma Water customers to be very conscious of their water use,” said Public Utility Board Chair Bryan Flint. “By letting their lawns go dormant, people can make a significant impact.”
“It’s been an unprecedented year for low stream flows and fish; both young and old are being stranded across the state,” said Bob Everitt, Region 4 director, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We would greatly appreciate any reductions in water usage that would save water for more instream flow.”
All three cities are making operational changes and activating supplementary water supplies – all in an effort to stretch their water supplies as far as possible.
If conditions worsen, each city will decide if it will move to the “mandatory” phase of water shortage response and require customers to further reduce the amount of water they normally use each day.
ADDED 5:16 PM: After discussion in comments here and elsewhere, we asked Seattle Parks about the department’s conservation plan. Here’s what spokesperson David Takami sent in response:
Beginning today, Seattle Parks and Recreation will take immediate steps to comply with Seattle Public Utility’s (SPU) voluntary water reduction advisory. These steps include:
· Shutting down decorative fountains by the end of the week. These include fountains at Cal Anderson Park, Freeway Park, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Waterfront Park and Westlake Park.· Suspending installation of any new landscapes.
· Discontinuing washing any City vehicles.
· Recycling water from indoor pools drained for maintenance to use for pressure washing tasks.
In addition to these steps, the department will refer to our 2005 Water Shortage Contingency Plan, which provides guidance on landscape watering prioritization. Prominent parks, athletic fields, golf courses, specialty gardens (such as the Japanese Garden and Kubota Garden), greenhouses, nurseries, food gardens, and newly planted grass, trees, and landscapes will continue to receive normal irrigation.
In other park locations, Seattle Parks and Recreation maintenance crews will immediately reduce irrigation by 50 percent. They include annual flower beds and grass in most parks. The only exception to the 50 percent reduction will be where such a reduction would result in trees or other vegetation dying. The prioritization of water use aims to preserve trees, shrubs and other landscape features that would not recover after a long period of insufficient water, and to maintain the most heavily used recreational areas.
The cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett have moved from the “advisory” to the “voluntary” stage of their water shortage response plans. The four stages are advisory, voluntary, mandatory and emergency. If Seattle moves to the mandatory stage, Seattle Parks and Recreation will implement further water reduction measures.
6:28 PM: Update from David Takami at Parks – they haven’t decided about the outdoor fountains yet, so we’ve struck that out in the quoted text above.
| 82 COMMENTS