The City of Wichita wants to reduce water use by 10 percent and is asking residents to voluntarily conserve water.
To reach that goal, the city outlined several steps to reduce outdoor irrigation, the biggest use of water during the summer. Residents are asked to only water 1-2 times per week and only between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. The city also requests that residents do not overseed lawns or plant new trees or shrubs this fall.
The city entered Stage 1 of their drought response plan in January of 2023. As a result, all city fountains were turned off. The city will now voluntarily enter Stage 2 of the plan, and have suspended all planting of new trees and ornamentals, in addition to limiting turf watering at city facilities to just once a week.
As part of the ongoing drought discussion, the Wichita City Council will hear a proposal at the August 8th meeting that would increase water rates. Residential customers who currently use 3700 gallons of water per month would not see any change on their water and sewer bill. However, those who use 7500 gallons of water a month would see an increase of $10.61.
If the drought lingers and water levels at Cheney Lake continue to drop, mandatory water restrictions could be enacted.
The 12-month running average level of Cheney Lake is 69.6%. The city projects they will reach stage 2 criteria of less than 69% full by August 1. The city says if normal amounts of rain were to fall, it would take three years to get the lake back to the conservation pool level.
Cheney Lake is not the city's only source of water. The Equus Beds Aquifer is 94% full and the city will increase the amount of ground water they use from it. Wichita's water treatment plant is limited to a roughly 50-50 blend of water they can use from the two sources but when the new water treatment facility comes online in April 2025, it could solely use ground water, if necessary.
Stage 3 water restrictions are possible in 12-18 months if current drought conditions persist.
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