Citizens face water woes

The voluntary water restrictions suggested by the City of Clarendon due to drought and water shortage conditions are affecting the lifestyles of many citizens.
For Peter and Marilyn Odima, residents of Clarendon for 12 years, the water restriction hinders their lawn care routine.

“This is the first year they’ve cut us down like this,” Marilyn said. “We spend money buying plants to make our yard look good, and I spend a lot of time working on it. Everyone tells me it looks nice, and I don’t want it to die.”

The Odimas said their exceptionally high water bill this month is due to the heat.
“We water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the water bill has never been this high.” Marilyn said. “When there are 107°-114° temperatures, it’s hard not to water your lawn if you want it to look good. I don’t want to have to replace my plants that will die.”

Joe’s Lawn and Tree Care is one business that is slightly affected by the water shortage.

“I’ve lost some business by it, but I’ve also gained business,” Joe Hall said. “More trees are dying and they need me to trim the branches. It’s definitely affected me, not necessarily in a negative way though.”

City Administrator Lambert Little said that citizens need to be aware of the severe conditions of the level three drought and the need for a 30 percent reduction in water usage.

“According to Greenbelt Water Authority General Manager Bobbie Kidd, we’re expected to be at stage four by August, which will be emergency conditions,” Little said. “If this happens, then the Greenbelt Water Authority will have the right to allocate water to all customers.”

In order to avoid a penalty if the City exceeds the allocation, Little asks citizens to comply with the water restriction requests. Last month Clarendon consumed 16,880,000 gallons of water while Hedley consumed 3,383,000 gallons.

“Be conservative while doing simple tasks like brushing your teeth,” he said. “Small savings will really add up. In stage four conditions, the City would have to prohibit car washing or even watering the lawn because we need drinking water.”

Little will present water overuse penalties at the public hearing on July 26 at 6:00
p.m.

“I don’t want to penalize people, but we’ve got to reduce consumption,” Little said. “We just don’t have the supply.”

Clarendon ISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger said the school has its own well.
“I’m certainly glad our school has this well because we need to keep our lawn up since we get heavy traffic, especially during ball games,” he said.

“We’ll have to get with the City to work out a watering schedule for the baseball and softball fields.”

Clarendon College also has its own well.

“Even though we’re not with the city [water], we’re still going to work with our maintenance crew to set up a water schedule,” Annette Ferguson, Dean of Administrative Services at Clarendon College, said.
For citizens who are concerned about their lawns, Hall said he has one suggestion.

“Leave your grass about two and a half to three inches long,” he said. “This helps the grass hold moisture and creates its own ecosystem.”

Hysinger agrees with the water restrictions and now only waters his yard on his designated days: Thursdays and Sundays.

“We need to do this because we have no other choice,” he said. “Even if it makes it hard to keep your yard up, it’s just one of those years and times. We’re all in this together.”