It is the purpose of the Water Emergency Supply Plan to outline the measures that will be taken to meet the water needs of Boone County. The critical variables that will determine which phase of the plan will be enforced are available supply water, daily customer demand, and anticipated precipitation that would greatly reduce the amount of outdoor water use in the service area.

Since this Plan relies on customer conservation to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water to all customers, the most important component of the Plan will be keeping the customers informed at all times. Their awareness and understanding of the situation from the initial stages of concern and continuing through each phase of the plan is the key to an efficient and adequate response to a water shortage problem.

Internal Conservation Efforts

Once the District declares the first level of alert in the Water Supply Emergency Plan, the Office Manager of the Boone County Water District will direct the following internal conservation measures:

    1. Suspend the Flushing Program and all non-essential flushing. All personnel will be directed to keep essential flushing to a bare minimum.
    2. Leak detection will become the highest priority of the Repair and Flushing Crew until the shortage is declared over.
    3. Increase customer education programs to reach as many customers as possible in the affected service areas.
    4. Suspend the flushing of new lines unless the new line will contribute towards alleviating the problem.
    5. Suspend the issuing of hydrant permits.
    6. Initiate communications with all fire departments within the affected areas to suspend all wet drills and to limit use to the bare minimum needed to provide adequate fire protection.

Levels of Conservation

It is understood that the Level 1 Program is the least restrictive and the Level 4 Program is the most restrictive program.

  • Level 1: All customers are requested to voluntarily limit all Non-essential Outdoor watering to designated days. The designated days for customers with addresses ending in odd numbers are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays. . The designated days for customers with addresses ending in even numbers are Wednesday, Friday, and Sundays. Those customers that are not readily defined by physical addresses are requested to voluntarily limit Nonessential Outdoor watering by 50%.
  • Level 2: The alternate day conservation program described in Level 1 becomes mandatory, with appropriate enforcement.
  • Level 3: The conservation program described in Level 2 continues. In addition, customers are requested to voluntarily eliminate all Nonessential Outdoor Watering, even on their “Designated” days.
  • Level 4: The conservation program described in Level 3 becomes mandatory, with appropriate enforcement.

Note: “Nonessential Outdoor Watering”, for the above four levels of conservation, is defined as:

  1. Watering of lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, and gardens.
  2. Use of fire hydrants (except for fire fighting and other essential purposes), including flushing of sewers and hydrants except as needed for public health and safety.
  3. Increasing water levels n scenic and recreational ponds and lakes except for minimum amounts required to support fish and wildlife.
  4. Filling or introducing additional water into swimming pools, fountains, reflecting pools, and artificial waterfalls.
  5. Use of water for dirt control or compaction.
  6. Washing sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hard surfaces, and flushing of gutters.
  7. Washing buildings or structures other than for purposes of fire protection.
  8. Washing of motor or other vehicles.

BCWD may also implement water rationing should such a measure be deemed necessary.

General Public Education Program

The Customer Service and Billing Representative will establish a public education program that includes the following techniques:

  • Retrofit Kits (toilet tank displacement kits, shower restrictors).
  • Customer leak detection Kits.
  • Brochures on water conservation tips.
  • Videotapes.
  • Bill inserts on general conservation tips.
  • Use public events as educational tools.
  • Public instruction about the 4 levels of the Water Emergency Supply Plan. Including the workings of odd/even watering.
  • The definition of “Nonessential Outdoor Watering”.

Communication to Issue, Upgrade, Downgrade, or Withdraw the Level of Alert

The decision to issue, upgrade or withdraw the level of alert will be made by the General Manager based on demand, storage, volume, predicated rainfall and other factors.