The City of Johnston has implemented Stage 1 of the metro area’s Water Shortage Plan because of drought-induced low river levels and record-breaking customer demand for water.
These two factors created a 90-percent demand on Des Moines Water Works’ production capacity, which triggered Stage 1. On Friday, June 11, Des Moines Water Works delivered almost 90 million gallons of water to its 500,000 customers. City of Johnston residents receive water from Des Moines Water Works.
“The City of Johnston urges all customers to follow the irrigation schedule, which includes no lawn irrigation on Mondays and a watering schedule of every other day based upon their address,” said Matt Greiner Public Works Director. “Together, we can all do our part to help conserve water and reduce demand on our water system during these current conditions.”
Much of the increase in water demand in the summer is a result of lawn irrigation. Therefore, residents and businesses are asked to reduce their lawn watering usage by 25 percent during this stage and avoid watering between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The Water Shortage Plan was created to manage system demand, so customers do not experience pressure, quality, or availability during extreme demand periods.
This week Des Moines Water Works plans to raise the flashboards on its Raccoon River low head dam. Flashboards are large metal gates used to raise water levels around the intake. The flow rate in the Raccoon River is down to less than 300 cubic feet per second compared to the median flow of 4,000 cubic feet per second.
As the Des Moines area continues into another week of high temperatures, water usage guidelines could change daily. Customers should visit the Des Moines Water Works’ website: www.dmww.com and follow DMWW on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (dsmh2o) for the most up-to-date information.
