HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Harrisonburg authorities are asking residents and businesses to take voluntary water conservation measures after the City Council issued a drought warning in a resolution last week.

At the August 13 meeting, Public Utilities Director Mike Collins gave a presentation on the current water supply, highlighting low groundwater and water flow levels. Collins identified three “triggers,” namely the Emergency Water Scarcity Order, the Drought Management Order and the Virginia Water Withdrawal Permit.

“Each of them has a different approach, so each of them can put us in a situation where we may have to ask our customers to do things they don’t normally do,” Collins said during his presentation.

One of the biggest problems is increased demand. Collins said the city can treat up to 68 million gallons of water per week, and during several weeks in July, treatment reached 65 million gallons. Mike Parks, city communications director, said the return of students from James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University for the fall semester is adding to the concerns.

“We know that the average amount of water students drink per week is 20 to 28 million liters. We are very concerned that we could be approaching that level,” Parks said.

The city has worked with partners including the two colleges, Harrisonburg Public Schools and Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation, which are among the largest users, to develop ways they and their residents can take voluntary actions to conserve water. These include:

• Limit watering of lawns and sports fields to the hours of 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. and avoid sprinklers if possible.
• Reduce washing of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots or other paved areas unless it complies with health and safety standards.
• Reduce washing or cleaning of mobile equipment such as cars, trucks, trailers and boats
• Reduce the operation of ornamental fountains, artificial waterfalls, fog machines and reflecting pools
• Reduce filling or refilling of outdoor pools
• Reduce the serving of water in restaurants, clubs or eateries unless requested

Collins and his team will continue to monitor water levels as they do daily. If an emergency were to break out in the city, the above measures would be mandatory. Parks said other measures at home could be as simple as turning off the water while brushing your teeth.

“We’re asking our residents – and we’ll ask students as well when they come back – to pay attention to some of these things, because a little bit of this could really help,” Parks said.

Parks also said the city will work to provide additional materials on its website and social media pages about water supply and treatment. More information can be found here.

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