Weekend rainfall has helped the Cheney Reservoir, but it has had minimal impact on the ongoing drought conditions.
KFDI’s weather partners at KWCH, Storm Team 12 report that Cheney Lake measured 1413.71 feet or 57.4 percent full as of Sunday morning. It sits at 7.89 feet below normal.The low mark set in February 2023 was 57.8 percent.
Storm Team 12 said many areas in the watershed that support Cheney Lake received an inch to two inches of rain Saturday into Sunday, and some places saw even more. Some of that will eventually flow into the north fold of the Ninnescah River and to the lake.
The City of Wichita is continuing Stage 2 of its drought response plan, which restricts outdoor watering to one day a week. All water customers are being urged to continue to find ways to cut back on water usage. Even though the outdoor irrigation season is coming to a close, there are still ways to save water by changing some daily habits.
The city said 302 warning letters have been issued to water customers who were reported to be watering outside of their allocated day, and water use in the community is starting to increase. Before stage 2 restrictions, weekly highest water use was around 74 million gallons a day (MGD). The first week of restrictions, weekly highest water use was just over 55 MGD. Last week, the highest water usage was 64 MGD.
During the last two months, efforts on education were prioritized over issuing fines. Going forward, staff plans to increase enforcement, including issuance of fines if warranted, while still continuing educational efforts on ways to cut back on water use.
Stage 3 of the drought response will be discussed by city officials if water levels within Cheney’s conservation pool reach a 12-month average of below 50%. In stage 3, all outdoor watering for non-exempt customers is prohibited. This would include lawn and non-vegetable garden watering, private pool use and more.
More information is available at the city’s web site savewichitawater.com
