FORKS — Residents are being asked to voluntarily cut back on water use to try and slow rapidly falling water levels in city wells.
“Right now, the wells are where they are typically in late July or early August,” Rod Fleck, city planner and attorney, said Monday.
The city will be checking the wells every few days to monitor the fall of the aquifer levels, Fleck said.
City officials are hoping that voluntary water restrictions will be enough to prevent stricter action later.
In an official message to city residents, Mayor Bryon Monohon recommended the following:
■ Do not water lawns.
■ Water gardens late at night or early in the morning or install a drip system.
■ Do not water during windy weather.
■ Check sprinklers to make sure they are not watering the sidewalk, driveway or street.
The Quillayute Valley School District has already agreed to reduce water use, Fleck said.
The district will not water lawns and fields, with the exception of the football field and newly planted trees, he said.
Fleck said a day of recent rainfall has not made a difference in the water supply.
“The rain we got Sunday, all it did was knock down the dust,” he said.
The National Weather Service forecast has no rain in the 10-day forecast, and includes continued unusually warm, dry weather.
Public Works Director Dave Zellar warned it may be October or later before the kind of rain needed for relief arrives.
It will take least three weeks of winter-heavy rain to begin raising aquifer levels, Zellar said.
