DOW reminds customers to adhere to every-other day lawn watering schedule

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Department of Waterworks (DOW) is asking customers to be responsible when using water resources outdoors during this week’s expected 90+ degree temperatures. Water consumption has spiked dramatically as the mercury has climbed into the 90s.

Yesterday, Indianapolis Water pumped 178 million gallons and anticipates the high demand will continue through the end of the week. By comparison, average daily water production is around 140 million gallons.

“When temperatures soar into the nineties, outdoor water use, most often for lawn watering, increases substantially,” said Matthew Klein, executive director of the Department of Waterworks. “Thirsty lawns should be in great shape for the summer following June’s wet weather and we’re asking customers to conserve this precious resource today and every day.”

Indianapolis Water customers are asked to abide by the every-other-day watering recommendation adopted by the Board of Waterworks in April 2008, and follow the watering schedule below:

• Customers with an odd-numbered address should do any outdoor watering (including lawn watering, washing cars and filling swimming pools) only on odd numbered days; and
• Customers with an even-numbered address should do any outdoor watering only on even-numbered days.

“Indianapolis Water, like most water utilities across the U.S., does not have an infinite amount of capacity to treat water,” Klein said.  “While we have plenty of water in the reservoirs, excessive customer use may stress the production capacity of the system, resulting in low water pressure in some areas”

Customers also are asked to voluntarily practice the following wise water use guidelines at all times:
•Repair or replace leaking water fixtures;
•Run water appliances, such as clothes washers and dishwashers, when they are full;
•Turn off the water while brushing teeth or shaving;
•Do not over water lawns or landscaping; (http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/)
•Use a higher lawnmower setting to provide natural ground shade and promote the soil’s water retention;
•Wash cars with a bucket of soapy water and use a nozzle to stop the flow of water from the hose between rinsing;
•Eliminate wasteful sprinkling of impervious surfaces, such as streets and sidewalks; and
•Cover swimming pools to reduce evaporation.
•Retrofit low-performance fixtures with high-performance WaterSense-labeled fixtures

The Department of Waterworks owns and manages Indianapolis Water, which serves nearly one million people in central Indiana, and contracts the system’s operation to Veolia Water Indianapolis.

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