HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-07-31 Water Supply Status Port Townsend Water Supply Status
Updated 7/31/15
Light rainfall last weekend (0.4" at the Big Quilcene diversion) briefly increased stream flows as
shown by the Little Quilcene River stream flow monitoring station at Center Rd.
Washington State Dept. of (Ecology -`fr LOT V133 Q/Vu1 rlRM'3715
Period 7 Day Plat Start 00:00_0712312015 2015
Interval 15 Minute Plot End 00:000713012015
— 17d060 A.auilcene nr mth 282.00 Max&Min Discharge(cfs) AT
0 17DOOK Ltl.Quilcene nr mth 282.00 Point ❑ischarge(cfsy �1leasured fla> GAGEDQ
30
25
20
1
1O — —
24 25 26 L7 L8 29
While helpful and allowing us to add 3" to Lords Lake reservoir, the flows dropped quickly and
we have resumed drawing down Lords Lake again. Lords Lake is down a total of 9" today or
approximately 10 million gallons from the starting full level. The Quilcene Rivers are still
supplying about 8 million gallons per day or about two-thirds of total demand. City water use
averaged 1,351,000 gallons over past seven days, 66,000 gallons less than the previous week
however, water use is on the upswing with the warmer weather over the past few days.
2015 Port Townsend Water Consumption & Lords Lake Reservoir Level
2,000,000 40.0'
570 MG
1,800,000
35.0'
500 MG
1,600,000 �^
O
� 30.0' —
R
v 1,400,000
Q 400 MG
N O
C 25.0' —
O 1,200,000 E
R
v_.
�
0 1,000,000 300 MG 20.0' j
C
800,000 06
M 15.0'
c
O 200 MG ,F
U 600,000 City Water Use(g pd) v
10.0' >
—Lords Lake Level(feet) J
3: 400,000
v
100 MG Y
R
5.0' J
200,000
0 1 0.0'
N 1b N N N N N Nh Nh Nb ^h ^h ^h ^b Nh Nh Nh Nh Nh
DLO \tom \,tio \t� \,tom V \,1� \,lam \IV lz� �,tio \,lam \,l am \1� \11� �`�o KI, \," 41 A\,"
�,"
4. 11P 14"3^ qP 413 All A�`5° �� 411 p� ��`t�^ �^Z�`L1 1111 INK", 411 ^`t^
On 20 July 2015 the City Council deliberated and approved Ordinance 3131 declaring an
emergency related to water supply and fire hazards. The Ordinance includes approval of the
City of Port Townsend Drought Contingency Response Plan however; the Council requested
that the plan be revised to incorporate more aggressive conservation measures earlier. If the
revised plan is approved at the August 3rd council meeting it will immediately mandate an
alternate day outdoor watering restriction. Even numbered addresses will only be allowed to
water on even numbered days and odd numbered addresses may only water on odd numbered
days. The plan stage sets a 10% reduction as the goal for City water use while the Port
Townsend Paper Corporation has a 16% reduction goal. The Drought Contingency Response
Plan will be subject to revision based on the most current water conditions. The revised plan
can be viewed at
http://cityofpt.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view id=4&event id=253.
Water conservation tip of the week:
Water plants early in the morning or later in the evening but not too late, otherwise you may
encourage fungal growth. Watering to the depths of the plant roots builds a healthier, deeper
root structure that is more drought-resistant. Add compost to your soil to hold more water and
spread mulch on top of soil to reduce evaporation. Vegetables and other annuals should be
watered if showing signs of wilting but perennials only need water if they stay droopy. Unless
very dry, trees and shrubs typically don't need any watering if they have been planted for a few
years. The City of Seattle has produced a useful guide to Smart Watering that is available at
http://www.seattle.gov/Util/cs/groups/public/(a�spu/ conservation/documents/webcontent/smart
wate 200311261701453.pdf