Otonabee Conservation urges less water use

Conserve that water, Otonabee Conservation urged Wednesday as a heat wave continued to blast the Peterborough area. “A Level 2 Low Water Condition is being declared by the Otonabee Region Water Response Team due to weather anomalies, including well-above normal air temperatures and well-below normal rainfall,” Otonabee Conservation states in a notice.

Rainfall in the one-month and threemonth periods ending June 30 are below 60 per cent of normal, with less than 7.6 millimetres falling in each of three weeks in June. All water users are asked to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 20 per cent. This includes in homes, farms, municipalities, golf courses, water bottlers and aggregate operations. A big one is conserving water outside.

“Lawns that have turned brown from the drought are not ‘dead,’ the grass has just gone dormant from lack of water,” the notice states. “When rainfall returns, the grass will come out of dormancy and perk back up.”

Turning off ornamental fountains and waterfalls, doing laundry with shorter cycles and running full dishwashers between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., conserving water while gardening and holding off on washing vehicles is also advised.