City water usage reaching highs during drought.
Superintendent Duane Friesz said the facility has reached pumping levels it doesn’t normally see until July or August, at times reaching 7.5 million gallons of its 12 million-gallon capacity.
The heaviest usage is in the morning and evenings.
Citywide and in Lincoln, customers have been asked to reduce outdoor water usage, including sprinkler systems, and lawn watering due to the dry weather conditions.
Even numbered houses and businesses are asked to only water lawns on Monday and Thursday.
Michelle Klose, Bismarck’s director of utility operations, said the water tower is the only water source for that area of town, while other locations have multiple sources.
Coupled with a high growth rate, going from 4,100 customers in May 2015 to 4,500 today, not including South Central Regional Water customers, the water tower has not been able to keep up with demand in the current drought conditions.
Klose said her department will be taking a look at its operations and infrastructure to determine what improvements need to be made in order to prevent these northwest area water shortages in future hot weather situations.
With the drought, average water use has increased from 300 gallons per house per day in May 2015 to 450 gallons per house per day throughout May.
Bismarck water customers can track their water usage online by setting up an account at www.bismarcknd.gov/wateranalytics.