Bloomington Enacts Voluntary Water Restrictions
By: Jacob Long, WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: August 21, 2012
BLOOMINGTON - The City of Bloomington is asking you to cut back on water.
The city's water supply, which comes reservoirs at Lake Bloomington and Lake Evergreen, is down a combined 8.2 feet.
That means a recently passed drought ordinance kicks in, and voluntary restrictions are in place for the city's entire population.
People are asked to take shorter showers, limit how much water they use for recreational purposes and fix any leaks.
The goal is to reduce city-wide water use by 5%. Bloomington Water Director Craig Cummings said it's already down 15% because people are cutting back on their own.
"People have really heeded the call from us to conserve water, and it's worked out very well. So if we get an additional 5% that would be great. If we get anything less than that, I'll be happy with that as well," Cummings said.
The voluntary restrictions are likely a temporary solution.
Without significant rainfall, Bloomington could implement mandatory restrictions under the drought ordinance.
Cummings predicted that could be in three to four weeks.
By comparison, he said the city's water supply was down 18 feet during the same time in the drought of 1988.
The city's water supply, which comes reservoirs at Lake Bloomington and Lake Evergreen, is down a combined 8.2 feet.
That means a recently passed drought ordinance kicks in, and voluntary restrictions are in place for the city's entire population.
People are asked to take shorter showers, limit how much water they use for recreational purposes and fix any leaks.
The goal is to reduce city-wide water use by 5%. Bloomington Water Director Craig Cummings said it's already down 15% because people are cutting back on their own.
"People have really heeded the call from us to conserve water, and it's worked out very well. So if we get an additional 5% that would be great. If we get anything less than that, I'll be happy with that as well," Cummings said.
The voluntary restrictions are likely a temporary solution.
Without significant rainfall, Bloomington could implement mandatory restrictions under the drought ordinance.
Cummings predicted that could be in three to four weeks.
By comparison, he said the city's water supply was down 18 feet during the same time in the drought of 1988.
