Overall water supply increased for the first time in nearly a year last week — thanks to recent rains in Southeast Kansas, where the watersheds for Hulah and Copan lakes are located. But unfortunately, the increase isn’t enough to move the needle in Bartlesville’s drought situation, Director of Water Utilities Terry Lauritsen said Monday.
“While the rains last week have not had a big impact on lake levels, we do have our first increase in water supply since last summer,” Lauritsen said. “Our water supply is currently at 56.2 percent, compared to 56.1 percent the week before. While this doesn’t solve our problems, as we are still under Stage 3 water restrictions, it does slow the progression of decline and is a step in the right direction, and that is always good news.”
Stages of the Water Shortage Ordinance are based on the percentage of overall water supply. Stage 1 kicks in when levels fall to 79-70 percent, Stage 2 is 69-60 percent, Stage 3 is 59-50 percent, and Stage 4, which is considered “critical,” is any level below 50 percent.
The City entered Stage 1 of the ordinance in December 2022, and overall water supply has continued to decline at a steady rate since that time, with the exception of last week. The area is currently under Stage 3 restrictions, which restricts outdoor water use to one day per week and imposes fines for violations. Additionally, the City Council approved Stage 3 emergency water rates during a meeting held May 15. Stage 3 rates will apply to households using 2,001 or more gallons of water per month, instead of only those using 10,001 or more as outlined in Stage 2. Stage 3 rates will affect 48 percent of residential customers and 44 percent of commercial customers, Lauritsen said.
For more information about restrictions and emergency rates, see Water Shortage Ordinance.
Lauritsen said daily consumption declined last week in comparison to the previous week.
“We used 4.38 million gallons per day (mgd) last week, which is down from 4.69 the week before,” he said. “The decline is likely due to a reduction in outdoor watering because of the rain, in addition to increased water rates for high-use households.”
Despite supply holding steady last week, a lot of rain is still needed in Southeast Kansas to fill Hulah and Copan lakes and bring the City’s overall water supply back up to normal, Lauritsen said.
“Over the last year, Hulah and Copan’s watershed is down from approximately 12 inches to more than 21 inches of normal rainfall,” he said. “Year to date, we’re six inches below what is normally received. Over the last two weeks, we’ve received around 1.4 inches less than what is normal. The rains last week have helped, but we’re not even at normal rainfall for the last two weeks. We need a lot more rain to start seeing runoff get to the lakes.”
For more information about the watershed areas, see Kansas Mesonet through May 15, 2023.
Note: A variance committee is in place to consider cases of undue hardship for the emergency rates only and does not apply to outdoor water use. To apply for a variance, complete the “Contact Us” form on the City’s website, www.cityofbartlesville.org, or call 918.338.4100.