Clarendon declares Stage Four drought

The water level at Greenbelt Lake continues to decline this week, prompting the City of Clarendon to move into Stage Four of its drought contingency plan. The City of Hedley remains at Stage Three.

Greenbelt Water Authority reported a lake depth of 47.20 feet Tuesday, which is down from 47.48 feet last week.

Members of the Greenbelt Board of Directors discussed the falling lake level during their regular meeting last Thursday, August 18, but took no action pending the results of a long term engineering analysis of the reservoir. That report, which is expected in October, will look at the future of the lake and is also supposed to identify alternative sources of water to meet long-term needs.

Greenbelt General Manager Bobbie Kidd told the board that the authority’s member cities – Clarendon, Childress, Crowell, Quanah, and Hedley – had all showing cutbacks in water usage, and he recommended not enacting further restrictions or implementing a system of water allotments at this time.

“I think we need to give our engineers a chance to report,” Kidd told the board, “and I think people will do more to conserve if they can make their own choices how to do it.”

Greenbelt hit Stage Four of its own drought plan on August 2 when the reservoir’s depth fell to 48.0 feet. The plan continues to call on Greenbelt customers to try to reduce water usage by 30 percent.

Kidd said he believes most people have given up on watering outside and thinks that summer coming to an end will help on water usage. He also said the Georgia Pacific plant near Quanah – one of Greenbelt’s biggest industrial customers – is exploring ways to cut its water usage.

Clarendon City Administrator Lambert Little attended the Greenbelt board meeting and said he was pleased with the cooperation his citizens were showing in Stage Three as he announced his intention to declare Stage Four.

Hedley City Secretary Jason Conatser says his community was remaining on Stage Three until he could have a meeting with the mayor this week.

Clarendon’s Stage 4 Rules

Clarendon’s mandatory restrictions for Stage Four are as follows:
1. Residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses water on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Residential customers with even-numbered street addresses water on Thursdays and Sundays. Commercial customers water on Tuesdays and Fridays. Irrigation of landscaped areas shall be limited to designated watering days between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 8 p.m. and 12:00 midnight and shall be by means of hand-held hoses, hand-held buckets, drip irrigation, or permanently installed automatic sprinkler system only. The use of hose-end sprinklers is prohibited at all times.
2. Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle not occurring on the premises of a commercial car wash and commercial service stations and not in the immediate interest of public health, safety, and welfare is prohibited. Further, such vehicle washing at commercial car washes and commercial service stations shall occur only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 6:00 p.m. and 10 p.m.
3. Avoid filling swimming pools except during the above watering hours.
4. Avoid operating ornamental fountains unless necessary to support aquatic life or if equipped with a recirculation system.
5. Do not water-wash driveways, sidewalks, and other hard-surfaced areas. Do not wash down buildings or structures except for immediate fire protection.
6. Repair all leaks as soon as possible, and report any leaks or unauthorized usage to City Hall. Night and weekend emergency leaks should be reported to the Donley County Sheriff’s Office at 806.874.3533.

Persons found guilty of violating Clarendon’s Stage 3 rules can face a maximum fine of $500.