Citizen Water: residents need to cut back - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

With no significant rain in weeks, Indianapolis residents are consuming record amounts of water. The water company is now pleading with customers to turn off the sprinklers.

Citizens Water has been asking people to use common sense and water less, but residents are not listening and instead, using more water. Now the water company is saying turn it down or else.

Wednesday residents ran through a record amount of water at 231 million gallons. Despite repeated requests to water less, reservoirs are dropping quickly. Morse and Geist are about a foot and a half now below normal, and without rain, they will drop even further.

The system of mains and pipes is getting stressed, and the additional usage causes breaks and other problems. Citizens figures 40 percent of the water is being poured on lawns and gardens.

They are now telling customers to cut back, to water once a week, or face mandatory restrictions later.

"All we are saying is please be responsible and conserve because if you don't do that now, long term, in the next couple of weeks there will be restrictions and you won't be able to water any longer," said Sarah Holsapple of Citizens Water.

Using recommendations from Purdue University, the water company says watering lawns only once a week, with one inch of water. Purdue created a special web site to help you through the drought. It is for homeowners and farmers. You can see it by clicking here.

Citizens Water press release:

Central Indiana is experiencing a severe drought and Citizens Water is asking customers to reduce lawn watering and other usage in order to avoid mandatory restrictions that may be necessary soon.

"On Wednesday and Thursday this week, Citizens Water broke its all-time one-day water usage levels. If the area receives little or no rainfall for the next two weeks as forecasts indicate, Citizens Water may call for mandatory water usage restrictions. Currently, lawn watering accounts for 40 percent of our water load now, so reducing irrigation can have a big impact," said Carey Lykins, President & CEO of Citizens Energy Group.

Citizens is asking customers to water their lawn no more than once per week. Experts at Purdue University say one inch of water once per week is all a lawn needs to remain healthy. Watering lawns daily can result in shallow roots, weed growth and fungus. New lawns, flowers and other plants, however, require more frequent watering. In addition, trees less than three years old require 15 gallons of water per week.

Morse Reservoir, Geist Reservoir and Eagle Creek Reservoir are primary water sources for Citizens, in addition to the Central Canal and nine well fields. Due to an increased demand, water levels at the reservoirs are dropping daily. While Citizens Water expects the reservoirs will have enough water to meet customer demand, lower levels could soon lead to recreational restrictions. Heavy water usage also is stressing the water distribution system, which can lead to costly main breaks.

"Water conservation is a responsible practice no matter the time of year, but especially during a severe drought. Citizens appreciates everyone's cooperation as we work to ensure the reliable delivery of our most valuable natural resource," said Lykins.