Dry weather could cause water woes

The first day of summer is still a week away, but the city could soon begin to consider water conservation measures if there isn’t some appreciable rainfall soon.

“Right now, we’re OK for the short term and I don’t feel there are any emergency measures required,” Larry Merriman, Utilities project manager, said Thursday.

“But, if we continue to see this kind of dry weather, we can definitely be talking about something in the very near future. We’re about two dry weeks from being in a position to where we do have to start looking at conservation measures,” he said.

“A couple of weeks of no rain, and it’s a whole different ball game.”

Merriman said Lake Ricks, which provides raw water for the Lakeside Water Treatment Plant, is down 7 feet as of Thursday morning, which is “not a concern” yet. In comparison, the lake was down by 19 feet in April 2011.

He said operators purposely reduced production at the plant earlier in the year in an effort to conserve the lake level.

“We utilize the Ouachita Water Treatment Plant for the lion’s share, and more, and try to preserve Lake Ricks since we were told early on by the weather people that it was going to be a dry year,” he said.

Unfortunately, it has been necessary to increase production at the Lakeside plant in the last couple weeks to meet system demands, he said.

Merriman said one reason Lake Ricks may have reached such a low point last year was that the year “was unique” for both the city’s treatment plants.

“We had work going on at different stages where we were having to use Lakeside more at one point to finish some work at the Ouachita plant. And then we had the Ouachita plant running pretty high at one point while we finished a job at Lakeside.

With both plants operating at optimum production capabilities right now, the city can produce about 27 million gallons of potable water a day.

“Our highest production date this year was June 9, last weekend, when we had a total combined production of 22.5 mgd,” Merriman said.

“I thought that was a pretty high number, but on June 11, 2011, we hit 22.2 mgd, so we’re trending very near the same level as last year as we get started.”

Realizing this has been a “very dry year,” so far, and already in a drought without any relief in sight, Merriman said as “responsible citizens and water customers, I think we all need to self- impose some conservation measures so that we as a city don’t have to mandate them.”

“I think it’s a common sense approach,” he said.

Merriman said there are no immediate plans to begin conservation efforts because the city is “going to rely on folks to help us make a conservation effort without us having to impose it.”

“But, as we all realize, we do have an ordinance we can enact.”

Conservation measures that water customers could initiate on their own include washing cars on lawns instead of driveways or streets, watering lawns one or two fewer days, and in the early morning hours, making sure that the water is hitting the lawn and not driveways and streets, and not overwatering to the point the water is running off and not soaking into the ground.

“I would encourage folks who sprinkle and aren’t sure how much water they are using, to call customer service. With the new meter system, we can tell you what you’re doing and help you pattern a more conservative approach. I think we’d all be for that,” he said.