Conserving water might be one of the last things on students’ minds this summer, but it is a habit that according to city officials will prove to be beneficial both to the user and the city.
Due to the drought that has plagued cities across the state, city officials are asking residents to try and ration their own water so that the city will not have to enforce rationing should the crisis worsen.
“Water is far too precious a resource to be wasted, and we all should strive to prevent water waste. Efficient water use should always be a concern, not just in a drought,” said Jennifer Nations, water resource coordinator for the City of College Station. “When water utilities get to the point of actually having to ration water – restricting amount or days of water use – that means the situation has become critical. If we conserve before we reach such a crisis, perhaps we can avoid it altogether.”
Nations also said that Brazos County is one of many counties in that state that is experiencing an “exceptional drought.” This type of drought is in the highest drought category.
Daily water needs have exceeded the average daily use from summer 2010. The city water supply has kept pace with need but Nations warned that with the remainder of July and August ahead, the city expects the demand to rise.
“The situation hasn’t led us to mandatory water rationing, but we shouldn’t wait until we reach that point to begin taking proactive measures to conserve water,” Nations said.
The City of College Station recommends guidelines to help conserve water for the remainder of the summer months. Residents are asked to not run sprinklers between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. because the water evaporates since the sun as at is hottest. Residents are also advised to not operate systems with broken sprinkler heads, fix controllable leaks, and do not operate fountains of ponds without a recirculation device.
“In addition to these prohibitions on water waste, we also have a recommended watering schedule that calls for watering only twice per week,” Nations said. “City properties, with the exception of athletic fields, are watered according to this twice weekly schedule (Mondays and Fridays for commercial properties), always before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. If you see a city property being watered outside of these days and times, please report it so we can fix it.
“This time of exceptional drought requires us all to be exceptional in our efforts to use water as efficiently
as possible.”