Carson City has water but needs more production

Carson City has plenty of water to supply residents and economic growth, city supervisors said Thursday. The problem is an inability to produce and deliver enough to customers.

Cutting the water schedule to three days a week next summer isn't meant to cut usage, but it will allow the city to store extra water on Mondays, when outdoor irrigation would be prohibited.

"On paper, we own enough water rights," said Public Works Operations Manager Tom Hoffert. "We just need to put the infrastructure in to pull it out of the ground."

Some residents have approached the mayor and supervisors with the misconception that the city doesn't have enough water, said Mayor Ray Masayko and Supervisor Pete Livermore. They want to change that perception and let them know the city's problem is with production and not supply.

"(People are saying) 'you keep building houses and you're running out of water,'" Livermore said. "Believe me, it's not the case. Let's just put that to bed if we can."

The perception might have cropped up after the city enacted emergency water restrictions for 1,000 residents on the west side in June when water users consumed more than the city could produce. At the time, storage levels dipped below 10 percent in Kings Canyon and Timberline area wells.

Two wells were taken off-line with broken pumps as the city was dealing with low ground water levels from consecutive years of drought.

Eventually, the city will need to charge extra for water to expand production systems if residents want to continue consuming water without further restrictions.

"If you don't want to change your habits, we have to charge," said Mayor Ray Masayko.

Supervisors are considering adopting a new restrictions schedule to begin in June 2005, asking residents to water only three days a week.

By not watering on Mondays, the city expects to store an additional 4-5 million gallons of water, Hoffert said. Watering would still be prohibited during daytime hours.

Some residents asked supervisors about allowing them to water earlier in the evenings. Currently, watering can't begin until 7 p.m. City staff will look at changing the new ordinance to possibly allow watering at 6 p.m.

The city will also work on figuring out how to help some residents with automatic sprinklers who can't accommodate the newer schedule. A conservation education program is also being developed.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.