The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 49, Ed. 1, Wednesday, April 5, 2000 Page: 3 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
gSBBB""'1'1 "p""'11""1'1 "
Wednesday April 5 2000
Optimist
..
Accent
1 " t "it (( t " ? Mr
DRYING UP
Water conservation
efforts continue locally
Abilene has now been in a drought for about two
years getting 50 percent less rainfall than what is
considered normal for the Big Country.
The shortage of rain affects crops and lawns.
Even the newly remodeled GATA fountain has
been shut off temporarily to help conserve water.
And conserving water is what the city of Abi-
lene is pressuring us citizens to do.
Dwayne Hargesheimer director of Water Utili-
ties in Abilene said that the city is trying to
remind citizens not to waste water.
"We try to emphasize that outside watering has
a lot of waste" Hargesheimer said. "It has a lot of
run off and it can be blown away by the wind
when using a sprinkler system."
About 21 million gallons of water is used a day
and water used for irrigation accounts for 55-60
percent of water use.
Because of this high use of water outside Abi-
lene is in the second stage of water conservation
which limits the amount of water that can be
used outside weekly.
The watering of lawns by residents and busi-
nesses has been limited to once every two weeks
if a watering system is used. If a handheld hose is
used a lawn can be watered daily.
A fine of up to $75. can be issued to residents
and a fine up to $225 plus court cpsts can be
issued to businesses if they are found watering
with a sprinkler system too much.
ACU has received citations in the past for this
offense and has only recently submit a watering
plan to the Water Utilities board sp it can water at
certain times and on certain days.
This is not the only university to submitting a
watering plan.. All universities n Abilene have
been allowed to submit la plan so that they will no
longer be fined for using too much water.
Students living off campus are also no longer
able to water their lawns as often.
Jocelyn Hill junior missions major from Abi-
lene said her lawn has suffered.
"My lawn is dead" Hill said. "It's only now get-
ting green because of the recent rain."
She also said she has become more aware of
other water usage inside her home like a running
toilet which she had fixed
Students living on campus aren't as concerned
about the city ordinance for outside watering.
Catherine Biles sophomore exercise science
major from Bryan said that she has always been
taught to conserve water but she doesn't think
about the water shortage daily.
"I do pray about it" Biles said. "Every time 1 see
one of those signs around town 1 have to pray for
rain."
To help citizens deal with the water shortage
the city is training a Water Issues Team of master
gardeners around the city. They will be trained to
answer questions about how to make lawns look
nice during the dry summer months.
Joyce Dalzell a member of the Water Issues
Team is just one of many master gardeners that
are going to help people with their lawns.
"We will tell people how to keep their yard alive
through the drought" Dalzell said. "We will give
them advice on things like drought tolerant
plants."
The Water Issues Team might not be able to
answer serious water problems but It will help to
make lawns look nice even with the water short-
age. Only if water becomes too scarce will Abilene
require that no water be used outside.
Story by Ashley Kilburn Photos by Amanda Reiter
Top: A boat at Lake
Fort Phantom
remains tied where
the water usually
reaches. Above: A
shell lays at the edge
of the water at the
lake. Right: The GATA
fountain outside the
Campus Center has
not run since early in
the fall semester to
comply with local
policy.
t S. Kt
y ' ;t .
Ba wmlimiiivmTWiW
Page 3
v
.
ill.
V V
1
i - V V
i
gma fountain
been shut
Jyp i
Utai. V Ak2i: '-tfar
j in k . iv . - a
1 vy -llCkfc i.
K.7'rti:
"" V. . "W WL'1V
.
fr
&
Ar.n
I
w :
t ' i
- -"
offi
he
$:JSH
'IjmK
.iuum
IkSM
KTW ''"iWBU
mm
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 49, Ed. 1, Wednesday, April 5, 2000, newspaper, April 5, 2000; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101653/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.