Wichita may enact permanent water restrictions. Here’s what that means

Wichita residents are likely to continue to face mandatory water conservation efforts even after drought conditions improve.

The Wichita City Council will hear a plan Aug. 19 that allows alternate days for outdoor watering.

“We recognize limiting outdoor irrigation to one day a week is painful,” Wichita’s Public Works Director Gary Janzen said Tuesday during a workshop meeting. “ In a lot of ways, it’s worked, and it’s done a good job.”

Residents have been allowed to water outdoors once a week for the last year under phase two of the city’s drought response plan.

Now the city is considering permanently enacting water conservation efforts even after phase two restrictions are lifted.

Proposed restrictions include:

• Watering every other day, with no watering on Sundays

• No outdoor watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The city is also looking at adding drought tolerant seeds and shrubs to its water rebate program.

“Overall, we’re focused on outdoor irrigation. You’d be able to water three days a week,” Janzen said. “Our estimated conservation is 10-15% below normal, which could amount to as much as a billion gallons a year. That’s a real number, and that’s a big deal going forward with long term conservation.”

The conversation comes as conditions at Cheney Reservoir, the city’s main water source, are improving.

Cheney was 62% full when the city began phase two drought restrictions last year. But heavy rainfall last month nearly restored the reservoir, which is now sitting at 97% full, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The city has previously said it would move out of stage two in its drought plan once the 12-month rolling average at the reservoir is 70% or higher. Right now, it’s 62.7%, with staff estimating that the city won’t be able to move out of stage two until next spring.

While Janzen cautioned against moving out of drought restrictions early, he did give the council one caveat: If they approve the new permanent restrictions, the city could move back into phase one of drought restrictions.

The three-day a week watering schedule would then be enacted permanently.

“I think it’s something to consider, because we are going to expect to see savings from the watering three days a week,” Janzen said. “As we get into the fall, we start seeing temperatures back off in September, October. it may be something to consider as an alternative to staying in stage two restrictions.”

However, two council members, Brandon Johnson and Becky Tuttle, were apprehensive about rolling back the city’s current drought restrictions until the 12-month average is at 90%.

“I’m going to be really hesitant about doing anything to take us out of stage two until we get to that 90%.

I think that it’s mixed messaging,” Tuttle said. “August is our hottest month of the year. September can be quite warm.

“Everybody right now is kind of in the mode of conservation and knowing what they need to do, and I’m hesitant. We get rain, and then it changes, and then, oops, we don’t get rain.”