HARVEST, Ala. — The Harvest-Monrovia Water and Sewer Authority is urging water customers to voluntarily conserve water until further notice due to current conditions affecting water levels. The advisory was announced Wednesday morning.
The Level 2 Plan includes the following restrictions:
Watering Restrictions: Residents can only water lawns on Mondays and Wednesdays if they have even-numbered addresses, or on Tuesdays and Thursdays if they have odd-numbered addresses. No outdoor watering is allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
“There's just a lot of rain in the past few months, so a lot of people find it hard to believe that it's a drought,” said Monrovia resident Kim Goode.
If not enough people volunteer to conserve water, officials could escalate to the next level, making it mandatory for residents to reduce their water use.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average American family uses over 300 gallons of water each day, with 30% of that for outdoor purposes. In the Harvest-Monrovia area, many residents have voiced concerns on social media about recent pipe leaks and flooding in lawns.
“There's been water leaks all over. It takes forever to get them to fix them. If this is happening throughout the Harvest-Monrovia area, I can see why there are water supply issues,” Goode said.
Phoenix Dukes, owner of a local lawn service company, noted that watering is essential for maintaining lawns and gardens.
“It’s really just part of the process of keeping things alive, like vegetable produce. People with gardens in their backyards want their yards to look nice. They invest a lot in their houses and yards,” Dukes said.
To help conserve water, Dukes recommends using drip irrigation systems for flower beds.
“Drip irrigation systems are a good idea because they use less water while still providing adequate moisture to the plants. This way, plants won’t die from lack of water,” Dukes said.