Mandatory watering ban could be imminent - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The city of Indianapolis could be just days away from mandatory water restrictions.

Citizens Energy, the owner of the water company, asked people to voluntarily stop watering their lawns, because 40 percent of all water used in the summer goes to lawns. This weekend it worked, saving 40 million gallons of water. But without rain, it probably won't be enough.

"There is no rain predicted in the forecast. Even if there is some, it is not going to be the downpours we are needing. That is why it is likely a water ban will be issued," said Sarah Holsapple, Citizens Energy.

Customers cut usage by nearly ten percent over the weekend, but some appear to continue watering at will.

A watering ban would require a water warning or emergency declaration from the mayor. It would be illegal to water lawns, fill swimming pools or wash cars. Fines start at $100 for the first offense, then goes up to $250 for the second offense, no less than $500 for a third offense and a serial water abuser could pay up to $2,500 a day for a fourth offense.

Kate Johnson of the City Code Enforcement office says city code enforcement officers armed with reports from the water company will do the ticket writing.

"We will really be focusing on the high volume, critical areas. We want to ensure that the pressure rates are up, so if there is a fire in a neighborhood, firefighters are able to put out a fire without issue," said Johnson.

Seamus Wheeler says his family has been following the voluntary restrictions and wish a ban wasn't necessary.

"Why didn't we cut back sooner, so we could stretch it out further. In business, you don't wait until the very end and have a big drastic effort made," Wheeler said.

Adam Clinton's son's weekly allowance is partially based on watering the lawn - a job he may have to surrender.

"They are not going to let us water the yard, because they don't want to run out of water," he told his son.

The Clintons have been watering just to keep their landscaping investment from drying up.

"Otherwise, it is not going to come back next year, rain or not," said Clinton.

Under a watering ban, watering flowers, trees, or anything other than a vegetable garden will be a violation.

Wells drying up

Indiana's water shortages extend well beyond its shrinking reservoirs. Private wells are leaving homeowners and farmers dry.

A lot of wells around the city and state have seen water table levels dropping due to the drought. Even wells that hit depths of 80 feet or more are beginning to run dry.

Don Stone with Indy Water Solutions makes his living fixing wells, and he says the last few weeks have been "pretty busy. A lot of water tables have dropped. A lot of the wells have been dying; simply because - not necessarily the wells but the pumps that have been in for some years on the end of their life cycle can't pump the water" - and they're burning out.

Stone's company has been lowering the pumps for customers whose wells have run dry.

"This well here was 151 feet; the pump was 83; we dropped it down to 128 and it has plenty of water now. Generally that's what we do," he said.

In Johnson County, the health department says the vast majority of residents are on municipal water systems. But more than half the county, mostly rural areas, people depend on well water.

Statewide, the Department of Natural Resources estimates more than 550,000 homes depend on well water and, like city water customers, they need rain.