Newcastle Bans Outdoor Watering

By Jennifer Griswold, The Oklahoman

Jul. 26–NEWCASTLE — City officials have banned all outdoor watering through 5 p.m. Sunday and are considering stricter water rationing rules once the ban is lifted.

Newcastle instituted an odd-even water rationing schedule earlier this week to help increase water pressure. The rationing didn’t help because people were just watering their yards twice as much on their scheduled day, City Manager Nick Nazar said.

Because the level of the water in the city’s towers wasn’t rising, city officials made the decision to stop all outdoor watering through Sunday afternoon.

There was never any danger of the city running out of water, Nazar said. The tower water levels are just low enough that it has caused low water pressure in some neighborhoods. City officials also want to ensure there is an adequate supply of water and pressure to fight fires.

Since Tuttle buys most of its water from Newcastle, Tuttle residents will be required to follow the same watering rules, said interim City Manager Don Cluck.

It hasn’t been determined what the new watering restrictions will be after the ban is lifted. Officials will make that decision this weekend, but rationing will have to continue until the temperatures cool down and the city gets rain, Nazar said.

Restrictions likely will include odd-even rationing restricted to about three hours a day and only with a hand-held water hose, Nazar said.

The city will use its mass communication system to call residents about changes. For more information about water restrictions, call Newcastle City Hall at 387-4427.

—–

To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Oklahoman

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.