New drought plan slated for Lancaster

by Bill Conrad of Lancaster TODAY

The Lancaster City Council unanimously approved a drought contingency and water emergency response plan at its meeting June 8.

The water conservation plan would aim to reduce water usage per capita among city water customers. On average, Lancaster residents use 129 gallons of water per person, per day.

This is below the state recommendation of 140 gallons per person, and below the state average of 175 gallons per person. The goal would be to have water usage be 125 gallons or less per person, per day in 10 years.

The plan would also restrict lawn watering from April 1-October 31, although residents may hand water. There will also be restrictions on watering impervious surfaces and restrictions to prevent over watering.

The drought contingency plan deals with possible mandatory water use restrictions which could be implemented in times of drought. There are four levels of drought contingency which can be lowered or raised as needed. The city is required to notify the public when the drought level is raised.

The council also approved the reconstruction of Cheshire Road with money from the Community Development Block Grant Program. Public Works Director Jim Smith said the city used its Pavement Management Study and that Cheshire Road was the worst road that fit all of the criteria for the CDBG grant. Smith said the amount of traffic on Cheshire Road, which is minimal, was not taken into consideration. A total of $103,726 will be applied to the total cost of the road reconstruction.