By Staff 9-2,2105
Water customers in Cheyenne can water their yards at any time. The summer water schedule that prohibits watering between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. ended on September 1, 2015. All other water conservation measures remain in effect.
The City of Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) removes the “no watering between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.” rule in September because the sun sets earlier in the fall. The earlier sunset leaves less daylight in the evenings for people who set hoses and sprinklers to water their yards.
The “no watering between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.” rule will return next spring. The BOPU implements the summer water schedule to promote efficient use of Cheyenne’s water. Watering in the morning and/or evening reduces the amount of water lost to evaporation. This allows more water to reach roots in landscapes.
By following the summer watering schedule, Cheyenne’s residents are using less water now than a decade ago. During the drought in 2002, the BOPU supplied up to 39.5 million gallons of water per day. The highest water use this summer was 25.8 million gallons of water on August 10.
Even though customers can water whenever it is convenient, BOPU water conservation specialist Dena Egenhoff recommends that customers continue to avoid watering during the hottest part of the day. Egenhoff also recommends watering three days per week or less. As always, wasting water by allowing it to run down the street is prohibited.
As of Monday, August 31, 2015, the five reservoirs that supply water to Cheyenne contained approximately 12.1 billion gallons of water, or 94.2 percent of capacity.
