Juneau residents asked to conserve water

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Juneau residents are being asked to turn off the hose.

The City and Borough of Juneau has asked residents to temporarily conserve water by not washing cars or boats or watering lawns and gardens until rains return and help fill reservoirs, KTOO reported (https://is.gd/fEU1ke).

The city still has water in storage, but reservoirs are about 30 percent below normal levels. One is completely out of commission, said Deputy Public Works Director Kirk Duncan.

The city’s secondary water source, Salmon Creek reservoir, is offline waiting for turbidity from rains and snowmelt the snowmelt to settle down.

Duncan said this normally wouldn’t be a problem, but another reservoir is low during a time when residents are using a lot of water.

Lemon Creek, which is normally a 31-foot reservoir, is down to 6 feet.

The city’s primary water source is the Last Chance Basin, located in the mountains above Juneau. On Friday, the draw on the reservoir was about 2,100 gallons a minute.

“It’s putting out almost 3-million gallons a day right now, so it’s pumping for all it’s worth,” Duncan said.

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Information from: KTOO-FM, https://www.ktoo.org