...and summer's just barely started

Residents' efforts to comply with the city's request to sharply curtail water use this past weekend helped Cheney avoid a critical situation regarding its water supply.

But with more hot weather on the way, and an even hotter and drier summer than in 2014 forecasted, last week's restrictions could become more commonplace without continued conservation measures.

The city's water issues actually began in April when a drier than normal spring led to an early start of the irrigation season. According to information from the city, peak irrigation times are usually a two- to four-week stretch beginning in early August where water use by the city's parks and the school district is curtailed to keep reservoir levels ahead of pumping capacity. Typically the peak irrigation season, when all eight wells go on line, begins mid- to late-June.

Drought and extensive hot weather over the past two years has led to that season beginning earlier, with all eight wells up and pumping at their 2,220 gallon per minute capacity on May 1, Cheney's water resource manager, Dan Ferguson, said.

The city did encounter an issue when Well 8, after being shutdown for two months for cleaning and Aqua Freed CO2 treatments, went back on line in late April. The reintroduction created turbulence in the system and required the city to use about 1 million gallons of water to flush it out.

"We get a lot of sediment in the system," Ferguson said. "It's just a natural condition."

But by May 31, all of Cheney's four active reservoirs, holding over 4 million gallons, were at capacity. Shortly thereafter, the system began taking hits.

According to the city's telemetry data, between June 4-5 and June 8-9 the levels in the reservoirs plunged from just below 24 feet to about 16.5 feet. For about the next six days the levels stayed between peaks of 18 feet and valleys of 15-16 feet as usage fluctuated.

Around June 16, the city was hit again, one of which Ferguson said was the filling of the city's swimming pool for its June 18 opening day. Reservoir levels dropped from around 17 feet to about 12 feet, but rose to a 16.47-foot peak by June 21.

But with news of very hot weather approaching, with temperatures ranging into the high-90s and even triple digits, city water users upped their irrigation practices to fortify their lawns. And the reservoir levels plunged again, reaching a low of around 10 feet sometime between June 25 and June 26.

The last time levels were that low was last August when reservoirs drained to about seven feet due not only to extensive hot weather but also a major thunderstorm that knocked out power to two of the city's wells, reducing pumping capabilities for 15 hours Aug. 2-3. The city also had a third well off line for rehabilitation work.

"We were seeing three feet of drop and two feet of gain," Ferguson said of last week's decline. "What it came down to was we were putting out 10 percent more than we could pump. And, we were already trending down. It just became too much for us to sustain."

At 11 feet the city's distribution system is impacted, affecting not only drinking and irrigation but firefighting abilities as pressure is reduced below state regulations. Friday, June 27, city officials instituted severe water restrictions, with staff going door-to-door handing out flyers containing water use instructions, managing to hit about 80 percent of users.

City Administrator Mark Schuller said residents, who were already being asked voluntarily to limit their water usage, responded well to the situation. Reservoir levels began to climb sharply and steadily, faster than expected.

By Monday, June 29, reservoirs were at 21.18 feet and as of press time Tuesday, Ferguson said they were at 27 feet. Once reservoirs hit 29 feet, the restrictions will be lifted and regular water usage once again allowed.

Cheney Mayor Tom Trulove also had high praise for residents. What irritated him most during the crisis was the response of some of the bigger, commercial users, who in some cases didn't heed the city's requests and cut off irrigation.

"Even as late as this morning (Monday), some were still sprinkling," Trulove said.

While the immediate crisis is passed, officials caution that with more hot weather forecast over the next few weeks, and drought conditions likely to prevail through the summer, water conservation measures are still needed in order to avoid any sudden big hit to the system causing a repeat of last week's water crisis.

"It's going to be a stay tuned situation," Ferguson said.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.