Most of Chase County’s population is being asked to conserve water.
A special meeting of the Chase County Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 26 led to the request involving water customers in Cottonwood Falls, Strong City and Chase County Rural Water District No. 1 after the Water Supply District approved a water watch. Strong City Water Operator Matt Markley tells KVOE News this is a request, not a mandate. He says the watch was passed as groundwater levels drop and the current drought deepens.
The goal is to conserve overall water use by 20 percent, whether through consolidating dish or laundry loads, shortening shower lengths or other means.
Initially, Strong City residents got the request to conserve water Thursday, but that was not expanded until the Water Supply District’s decision late Friday. Markley says the situation will be reviewed daily and will be adjusted as needed.
Markley also says water use has remained fairly stable this summer.
So far, this is the only adjustment as requested by a city, county or water authority across the KVOE listening area. Moderate drought covers almost all of Chase County, save for abnormally dry conditions in the far northwest corner and severe drought in the southeast corner. Areawide, moderate drought covers most of Lyon and Wabaunsee counties and all of Osage County. Severe drought can be found essentially south of a Matfield Green to Hartford to BETO Junction line, with extreme drought south of Hamilton and exceptional drought near the Greenwood-Elk county line. Greenwood County is in a drought emergency as declared by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday, meaning residents and communities can access federal reservoirs or state fishing lakes for emergency water use if they reach out to the Kansas Water Office for approval. Lyon, Chase, Coffey and Morris counties are in a drought warning, according to the Kansas Water Office, while Osage and Wabaunsee counties are in a drought watch.
