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Heat wave may force Ashland to restrict water ASHLAND - Ashland residents have done a good job of voluntarily limiting their water use, but the recent heat wave may affect whether the city avoids mandatory restrictions. Public works director Paula Brown said curtailment is likely as early as Monday if water use does not decrease. Restrictions probably won't be imposed if use averages around 5.5 million gallons per day, she said. Water use hit 6 million gallons for the 24-hour period that ended at noon Thursday, as it had the previous day. "We've hit the magic mark," Brown said, "and that probably means we'll go to curtailment sooner rather than later." Other days in August have varied between 5.2 and 5.7 million gallons. Average water use in July was 5.58 million gallons per day, compared to 6.13 million gallons in July 2000. The decrease came despite an average high temperature that was 87.4 degrees, 2.9 degrees warmer than last year. The City Council approved provisions effective July 9, calling for voluntary water-use cutbacks through a half-dozen measures, including limited watering hours for outdoor plants and lawns. Use was generally above 6 million gallons per day until July 12. Use stayed under 6 million gallons per day and dipped below 5 million gallons a couple of days throughout the rest of July. "Our community has responded very well," said Brown. Reeder Reservoir has about a 90-day supply of water. Inflow has ranged from 2.7 to 3 million gallons per day since July 31. The city is using about 1.5 million gallons of Talent Irrigation District water per day. Under curtailment, homeowners would be able to use 3,600 cubic feet of water per month in the first stage. Use over that amount would be billed at four times the regular rate. The city administrator has the authority to begin a curtailment. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.