As temps rise, levels go down

For the second time in two weeks, Cheney residents were faced with the imposition of irrigation restrictions to deal with low water levels in the city’s five reservoirs.

Unlike past mandatory restrictions, the prohibiting of irrigation from July 25-28 and Aug. 8-10 was brought about by extremely hot weather only, rather than hot weather combined with mechanical malfunctions at city wells. A third irrigation restriction was imposed early in July when levels dropped to 12.8 feet on July 10 as temperatures hit the high 80s for the first time this year, topping 91 on July 9.

The most recent mandat...