Parts of Wisconsin restrict water use, others urge conservation

Some municipalities are placing water restrictions on its residents, while other places are urging people to conserve water as Wisconsin’s drought continues.

Prairie du Chien is on the Mississippi River, but residents get water from the surrounding hills. And officials are worried that water source is getting low due to the drought. So, residents can no longer water their lawns from 7 in the morning until 9 at night. City administrator Aaron Kramer says violators could receive fines from $1-500. “We’re not sending police into everyone’s homes and businesses saying, ‘Your water’s on or you have a leaky toilet.’” he says. “We’re asking for mandatory from what we can see and extreme high levels of voluntary elsewhere.”

Kramer says people should also hold off on washing cars and filling swimming pools.

It comes down to making sure there’s enough water for fire fighters or other emergency situations.

New Berlin and Waterford also have similar restrictions in place. Other municipalities, like Waukesha, Pewaukee, and Brookfield, have annual sprinkler restrictions.

Madison Water Utility spokeswoman Gail Gawenda says they haven’t issued any official restrictions, but she urges residents to refrain from watering lawns. “The grass will go dormant; it will come back as it does start to rain again as we all hope it will someday,” she says. “Watering the lawn uses an awful lot of water, so we say, ‘Please don’t water unless you have a newly seeded or newly sodded lawn, then yes, you’ll need to.’”

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp is also encouraging water conservation by everyone across the state.