City asks water customers to cut back on lawn watering, voluntarily

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Ten groundwater wells, two springs and connections with Tacoma’s regional surface water system provide Auburn’s water supply.

That’s all.

Given the state brought on by last winter’s “snow drought” coupled with the recent spate of dry, hot days, the City of Auburn’s Water Utility has stepped up its monitoring of the water supply from those wells and springs.

While today the City has enough water to meet customers’ needs, should the monitoring detect a decline in available supplies, it may activate parts of its water supply contingency plan to encourage customers to cut back on their consumption.

Tacoma Water, the City’s regional wholesale water supplier, has already initiated the next stage of its water shortage response plan by asking its customers to ease up voluntarily on lawn watering.

Because part of Auburn’s water comes from Tacoma, Auburn’s utility is also asking its customers for voluntary reduction on lawn watering.

Given the region’s all-time driest May-July and in preparation of a potentially drier-than-normal fall, Everett and Seattle have also moved to this second stage of their water shortage response plans.

The voluntary stage has been enacted because the potential for a water supply shortage continues to increase.

Tacoma, Seattle and Everett are working together to manage water supplies for people and fish during the drought and higher-than-normal water use. They are asking customers for their help by voluntarily reducing their water use by 10 percent.

“Seattle customers know it is important to manage their water use during these dry conditions,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. “Today we are asking residents and businesses to continue to reduce water use both indoors and outdoors.”

People who want to find out how well the region is meeting the 10 percent goal can visit www.savingwater.org.

“We are confident our customers will be able to reduce their water use by 10 percent,” said Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson. “We are asking for this reduction to ensure that we have enough water for both people and fish.”

Ways people can reduce their water use:

• Let your lawn go dormant and limit plant watering to twice a week – Doing this at home and at businesses can make a big difference.

• Water plants before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. – If you are watering, do it during this timeframe to reduce the impact of evaporation.

• Reduce your showering time at home, work and the gym

• Check for and fix leaks now, including checking your toilets for silent leaks

• Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes

• Find more water saving tips at www.savingwater.org.