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| DATE:
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4/1/2013 7:00:00 PM |
| SUBJECT: |
TABLED
An Ordinance to Amend Section 17-21 of the Gillette City Code Concerning Water Wasting. |
| BACKGROUND: |
Ordinance First Reading: 6/1
Ordinance Second Reading: 5/2
Staff has prepared an ordinance to increase efforts to encourage greater efficiency in the use of city-supplied water for irrigation. Until the Madison Regional Water project is complete and delivers new supplies of water for City customers, Gillette will face annual water shortages during the summer irrigation season, June 1 thorugh October 1.
Gillette can only produce about 14.5 million gallons of water per day. When consumption exceeds around 12 million gallons per day for several days, we are unable to maintain the levels in the City water storage tanks. If we cannot maintain water levels in the water storage tanks, we risk not having enough water to fight fires and for domestic use.
In 2007, the Council passed a Resolution that recommended a voluntary outside watering plan that includes no outside watering on Mondays, watering on odd and even days of the week based on one's address and watering only between the hours of 7 PM and 7 AM. The Monday restriction was in response to the large consumption that is experienced on weekends and is intended to allow the City water storage tanks a better chance to refill by lowering consumption. Over time, and especially last summer, consumption measurements show that outside watering is as high on Mondays as any other day. The recommendation to only water at night is based on the fact that a large amount of the water that is applied in the heat of the day is evaporated and never irrigates anything.
The ordinance that is before the Council establishes some portions of the voluntary guidelines. It prohibits outside watering on Mondays and it prohibits outside watering between 7 AM and 7 PM. The prohibition on Monday watering, if effective will let the storage tanks refill and the prohibition on outside watering during the day will limit water lost to evaporation. Both of these standards are relatively easy to observe and will allow City employees to enforce these rules through education and if necessary, through the municipal court. |
| SUGGESTED MOTION: |
| I move for the Approval of the Ordinance to Amend Section 17-21 of the Gillette City Code Concerning Water Wasting on third and final reading. |
| STAFF REFERENCE: |
| Charlie Anderson, City Attorney |
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