City officials lifted watering restrictions Monday morning, giving residents and businesses in Wichita and surrounding towns the go-ahead to resume their normal outdoor watering schedules. Citizens should also expect to see all of the City’s decorative and interactive fountains turned back on by Thursday morning. The restrictions ended two days ahead of schedule, thanks to efficient repairs at the Water Treatment Facility.
“Our contractor, Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co., and City maintenance staff didn’t waste any time, and our equipment was back in operation late yesterday – much quicker than any of us could have expected,” David Warren, Director of Water Utilities, said. “We don’t anticipate any problems from this point forward meeting daily water demand, and that includes both indoor and outdoor usage.”
The community and media also played a large role in ensuring the process went smoothly and that there was enough water available for fire protection and basic indoor needs.
“Our thanks goes out to the media that helped us get the message out repeatedly that people should stop watering their grass, and to individuals who responded almost immediately by cutting down on their water use,” Warren said.
The watering restrictions were first announced last Wednesday as a way to lower water demand while repairs were made to one of the treatment plant’s clarifiers, which are used to make the water suitable for drinking. During that time, the city could only provide 70 to 80 million gallons of water a day, which is about half of its normal pumping capacity. Last Monday before the restrictions were announced, customers used 82 million gallons of water. By Sunday, usage had dropped to 53 million gallons.
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