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High demand
forces Joliet
to impose ban on watering of lawns
Chicago Tribune
- 6/26
For
only the second time in more than 20 years, Joliet officials on
Tuesday declared a total ban on watering lawns in an effort to
curtail demand that has nearly drained the city's storage tanks.
The
city had issued an order on May 1 that allowed residents to water
their lawns on odd or even days, depending upon their address.
The guidelines allowed residents to water between 6 and 10 p.m.
and 6 and 10 a.m.
But on Tuesday, City Manager John Mezera issued the complete ban
that will last until further notice. The city's capacity is 23
million gallons of water per day, to serve nearly 120,000 residents,
and the demand has exceeded that by 3 million gallons per day
since Sunday, officials said.
City
officials first became concerned about water usage last week,
after a sharp increase on June 15 when temperatures started rising.
Mezera
said the demand must be curtailed in order to refill the tanks
and then maintain adequate storage for fire and health needs.
The city will not issue permits for watering grass until "further
notice." But the watering of shrubs, trees and gardens will
be permitted, though city officials ask that it be done during
the specified morning or evening hours.
Dennis
Duffield, director of public works and utilities, said the ban
is only the second one that he can remember since 1980 when he
became a city employee.
"It
can't continue like this," he said of the demand on the water
system.
Over
the weekend, public works employees issued 300 warnings for violating
the watering restrictions, Duffield said. The city will levy a
$75 fine for future violations, he said.
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