Northwest Region Communications Manager
Everett, Seattle and Tacoma have asked
their water customers to reduce their
water use by 10 per cent.
The three water systems, which also serve several nearby
communities, provide drinking water to just over half the people in Washington.
The request to conserve water comes on the heels of
record-setting heat and dry weather, which, in turn, followed a winter that
left no Cascade or Olympic mountain snowpack by early June.
Reservoirs full by late spring
The three cities filled their reservoirs by spring to
capture rain runoff from their mountain watersheds. But, early summer water demand rose with the
temperature, and long-range forecasts warn of continued unusually dry weather
into the fall.
Conservation by water customers will help make more water
available for fish in the Cedar, Green and Snohomish river systems. Fish are
becoming stranded by low stream flows in many parts of the state.
Several other public water systems have already requested
customers to reduce their water use.
Everyone can help
The savingwater.org
website provides outstanding advice on ways to save, with tips that people in
any location can put to use right away. Among these:
- Let your lawn go dormant, and limit plant watering to twice a week.
- Water plants before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
- Take shorter showers.
- Check for plumbing leaks, including silent leaks in toilets.
- Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.
All three cities are making changes and tapping
supplementary water sources to help stretch their available water
supplies. However, if conditions worsen,
each city could put mandatory conservation measures in place.
See Ecology's drought page, and Water Conservation: It all starts with you for more on Washington's drought.
See Ecology's drought page, and Water Conservation: It all starts with you for more on Washington's drought.
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