Greenbelt nearing Stage 4

Greenbelt Water Authority General Manager Bobbie Kidd told citizens at Hedley that conservation measures are helping, but Greenbelt Lake is still nearing the next trigger in its drought contingency plan.

“These restrictions are starting to make a difference,” Kidd said at a called meeting of the Hedley Board of Aldermen last Friday. “We’re seeing reductions in the systems we serve. We’ll be down to one raw water pump tonight. That’s about three million gallons, and that’s unheard of this time of year.”

However, the lake is just within inches of reaching Stage 4 of the drought plan. On Monday morning the Greenbelt was at a depth of 48.39 feet. The trigger for Stage 4 is 48.0 feet, and Kidd said he believes that will be hit between the first and middle of August.

Cities served by Greenbelt have been asked to implement their drought plans and achieve a 30 percent reduction in consumption. Hedley and at least two other cities have implemented mandatory restrictions.

Clarendon’s restrictions were still voluntary as the Enterprise went to press Tuesday afternoon, but city leaders here were preparing to hold a public hearing on the matter Tuesday night and take action in a called meeting that was to follow.

If Greenbelt reaches Stage 4, cities will be allotted a certain amount of water per month based on a five-year average. If a city exceeds their allotment, Greenbelt can financially penalize that municipality.
Kidd said if the allotments and penalties were in place for June, for example, Clarendon could have been penalized about $30,000 based on its usage for the month.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to do that,” Kidd said
Kidd said people have to learn to conserve and that hopefully some of those practices – like not watering during the heat of the day – will stick with people even after conditions improve.

For the long term, Greenbelt has engineers studying the future of the area’s water supply, and results of that study will be completed in October. But in the meantime, people are being asked to save water any way they can.

“From Greenbelt’s standpoint, we certainly appreciate everything anyone does,” Kidd said.

Hedley aldermen will meet again on August 4 at 7 p.m. to review its Stage 4 plan, which calls for a 40 percent reduction in water use.

Hedley’s Stage 3 mandatory restrictions are as follows:
Outside watering utilizing sprinklers or irrigation systems will only be allowed on Monday and Thursday, However, no watering will be allowed between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Hand watering only will be allowed on Sundays.

No washing of vehicles, boats, RV’s or driveways is allowed.

Customers with livestock tubs must maintain the float systems in good repair to alleviate any overflow.
Swimming pools must be maintained to reduce evaporation and water loss due to flushing.

All commercial and other known high water users are asked to reduce usage and prevent waste.

Watch for leaks and notify personnel at Hedley City Hall immediately if one is found.

Violators will be given one verbal warning. After the warning has been given a fine of $50 will be charged to your water bill every time you are caught violating the rules.

Any mandatory water restrictions implemented in Clarendon will be posted on ClarendonLive.com following this week’s city meeting.