Q&A – Water Tower Maintenance

Q: How did you choose when this would be completed?

𝘈: 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘊𝘻𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

Q: Why would the City not have more say in something like this?

𝘈: 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Q: How often will this need to be done?

𝘈: 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 10 – 12 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.

Q: Why have do we have water restriction this time when we haven’t in the past?

𝘈: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 2 – 3 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 12 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦.

Q: How long with this take?

𝘈: 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 2 𝘵𝘰 3 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴.

Q: What will happen if we are caught watering using a sprinkler, underground watering system or any other extended period watering device?

𝘈: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 $150 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 (𝘔 – 𝘍 | 8:00𝘢 – 5:00𝘱).

Q: Why were residents not notified sooner regarding the restrictions?

A: This is not something that we schedule. At least not in the normal sense of scheduling. All we know is a general time frame. We tried to push them back until September but we were just notified late last Friday that they were ahead of schedule and would be starting on August 21st. At that time we needed to make decisions on the process and get the notice ready & sent to residents.  At the most, notice could have went out a few days earlier but the other concern was residents panicking and over watering.  To maintain, our water levels need to be around 300,000 gallons.  Since releasing the announcement the water usage has increased to 706,000 gallons, over double where we should safely be.  That was in two days.  Had there been two more days to water, we could have reached dangerous levels.  We know this is not an ideal time of year and was definitely not our first choice but to stay in compliance, it had to be completed while this company is in our area or we are at their disposal when they make it back our way.

Q: What if people did not receive their announcement and do not have Facebook or internet access?  Some residents are not able to pay the fine.

A:  First off, our main goal here is not to pass on a fine to our residents.  At this point, we are not restricting any indoor water usage and residents are still allowed to water flowerbeds and small gardens as long as it is not for an extended period of time.  If we see this being abused, however, this could be restricted as well.  As of Monday, we will have the notices at Food Mesto, Farmers and Merchants Bank, First State Bank and the Wilber Post Office.  We will also be posting this in the paper the week of August 21^st.  Prior to Monday, residents were mailed the notices and they were also posted on our website and Facebook page.  The residents will also receive a warning before any fines are imposed.