By David Klepper
SEQUIM — An area irrigation cooperative is urging rural residents to conserve water in the face of shrinking water supplies.
It’s just the latest attempt to deal with the ongoing drought — the state’s second-worst drought on record — which is hurting farmers, salmon and water districts throughout the state.
The Sequim-Dungeness Valley Agricultural Water Users Association on Tuesday asked rural residents on the Peninsula to curtail lawn watering. Ponds that are not used for irrigation are asked to be shut off from water supplies.
“We call it shared sacrifice,” said Mike Jeldness, association coordinator. “The fish don’t get all the water they want; the farmers don’t get all the water they want, nobody does.”
Unless cool temperatures and rainy weather prevails, Jeldness said the water regulations could become mandatory.
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