INDIANAPOLIS - Cities across central Indiana are implementing plans to deal with extreme heat this week.
On Tuesday, Indianapolis announced its extreme heat contingency plan. Community centers will offer extended hours to residents who need to cool off. Click here to see a list of locations and times.
Stop watering your lawn
Indianapolis residents are being asked to refrain from watering their lawns through this coming Sunday (July 24th, 2011). Indianapolis Water pumped 215 million gallons of water Tuesday, compared with an average of 140 million gallons a day.
Due to increased demand, some Indianapolis Water customers may already notice low water pressure. The utility will reevaluate this request to cease all lawn watering on Monday, and may return to the odd/even schedule if the excessive demand subsides.
Customers are also asked to voluntarily practice the following wise water use guidelines at all times:
· Repair or replace leaking water fixtures;
· Run water appliances, such as clothes washers and dishwashers, when they are full;
· Turn off the water while brushing teeth or shaving;
· Use a higher lawnmower setting to provide natural ground shade and promote the soil's water retention;
· Wash cars with a bucket of soapy water and use a nozzle to stop the flow of water from the hose between rinsing;
· Cover swimming pools to reduce evaporation; and
· Retrofit low-performance fixtures with high-performance WaterSense-labeled fixtures.
Lafayette community centers:
• Salvation Army, 1100 Union St., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Bauer Community Center, 330 Fountain St., 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Hanna Center, 1201 N. 18th St., 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Center@Jenks Rest, 1915 Scott St. (Columbian Park), 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Anderson public health emergency
Also, the City of Anderson declared a public health emergency due to the record heat. Under the emergency order, the city will open its Emergency Operations Center and direct the opening of cooling shelters as administered by the Chaplain's Emergency Response Team.
Shelters will be open until 6pm on Wednesday at Aletheia Fellowship, 2505 Faith Drive (call 623-3602 for more information about this location) and at Cross Street Christian School, 2318 W. Cross Street (425-8654). Shelters plan to be open on Thursday, July 21 from 1pm-6pm as well, to provide relief for citizens during the hottest part of the day.
Citizens in the Crime Watch network are advised to check on their neighbors, especially the elderly or disabled. People are also reminded to provide their pets with adequate supplies of water and shelter to escape the record heat. Should a health or other emergency arise because of heat-related conditions, citizens should call 911 or the City's dispatch center at 648-6775.
Bargersville Water
The Bargersville Water Utilities is implementing their Level 1 Emergency Water Conservation measure. Level 1 is voluntary conservation; the primary concern is Lawn irrigation. All customers are asked to limit irrigation to every other day and to use their address as the point of reference. If the address ends with an even number, irrigate on even number days. If the address ends with an odd number, irrigate on odd number days. If at all possible please reduce the irrigation run time by one-third to one-half.
