Water conservation encouraged as dry weather continues

DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) — The recent dry weather has some water providers in central Ohio making adjustments to deal with increased demand.

DelCo Water Company is recommending that customers water their gardens only on Monday, and water their lawns every other day. It's the same recommendation Delo Water made earlier this year and in previous years, according to Jeffrey Kauffman, communications director for the company.

“This is a voluntary request, and the recommendations we have really help to even out that water demand, and so the only difference now is that we’re sitting in this two-week period where temperatures are expected to be 80 to 90 degrees and no rain," he said.

Kauffman said supply is in a much better position right now than during last year's drought.

“Last year, if you were to look at our reservoirs, they were about 70% filled,” he said. “This year as we go into September and October, we’re at about 90 to 95% at capacity.”

He said customers' decisions to alternate watering days can make a big difference.

“Our average daily demand currently is about 23 million gallons a day,” Kauffman said. “About half of that is just going to the lawns, so as a customer, if you’re able to simply cut in half what you’re doing, well, that could lead to millions of gallons in a day that we are conserving.”

George Zonders, a public relations specialist with Columbus Water and Power (CWP), said it always encourage conservation, but no voluntary or mandatory water restrictions are needed. 

"We have a drought management plan; like this time last year, we are currently in the ‘watch’ phase, where we monitor not only current water levels and usage, but also extended precipitation and temperature outlooks," Zonders wrote in a statement.

He said the O'Shaugnessy and Griggs reservoirs are down a little compared to normal for this time of year. He also said that on Friday, CWP began releasing water from the Doutt Upground Reservoir to help the O'Shaugnessy.

"We’re keeping an eye on Hoover; it’s currently down just over eight feet," Zonders wrote. "If the drought continues, we could soon begin pumping water from Alum Creek Reservoir to supplement flow from Big Walnut Creek by early October."