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North Bend residents asked to limit water use after driest summer in decades

NORTH BEND, Wash. — North Bend is just days away from significant water restriction.

The measures are coming after an extremely dry stretch for the region. A notice from the Public Works Department of North Bend notes that the restrictions are going into effect on Oct. 20.

The restrictions are happening after Western Washington had one of the driest summers on record since 1930 and the warmest since the 1890s.

The restrictions will last until further notice.

According to the water conservation order, residents’ water usage will be limited to three days a week and only between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., when less evaporation occurs, according to North Bend Public Works.

Customers with odd street addresses can irrigate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and customers with even street addresses can irrigate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

No residents will be allowed to water on Mondays.

KIRO 7 spoke to North Bend Director of Public Works Mark Rigos, who clarified that for most people, the restrictions will mean watering their landscaping only three days a week depending on their address. He also said that the order means there will be no washing of streets, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, buildings or other hard surfaces unless it’s for health and sanitation or fire protection.

Rigos said the city of North Bend puts such restrictions in place based on water levels at the Chester Morse Lake Masonry Pool near Rattlesnake Lake.

North Bend officials had hoped that the measures would not be needed, but Rigos said this year’s long, dry period hit the masonry pool hard and water levels are lower than expected for this time of year.

“We believe water is a precious resource and we’re seeing things happen in California and Arizona and drier states. But even up here in the Seattle area, we are not immune to this either. We’ve had five months, almost six months of very, very little rain. So, we’re trying to protect the Snoqualmie River watershed. Use less water if you can,” said Rigos.

Rigos said that the restrictions are being put in place even though North Bend had a good amount of snowpack from the winter and a relatively wet spring from March to May this year.

Restaurant patrons will also notice changes. If you go to a restaurant, water will only be served on request.

No water from the city system will be used for construction unless the city signs off on it.

When asked what the situation will be if the rain comes back, Rigos said the restrictions could be lifted, but it all depends on how much rail falls.

The full text of the order is below.

Effective Thursday, October 20, 2022, North Bend Public Works Director Mark Rigos has declared the City will move to Stage 2 of its Water Conservation Ordinance (WCO) until further notice.

WCO Stage 2 provides residents with a series of simple directives for water usage:

You can irrigate landscaping three times per week rather than each day as provided in Stage 1. The volume of watering users choose for their irrigation is not affected by the WCO, though the City urges users to be cognizant of their water use at any time, as conservation results in better health of the Snoqualmie River.

You can water between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. when less evaporation occurs. This is a continuation of the WCO Stage 1 directive.

Landscape and pasture irrigation – except drip irrigation – is limited to a maximum of three days per week based on the following odd-even schedule:

Customers with odd street addresses can irrigate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Customers with even street addresses can water on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

No irrigation is allowed on Mondays.

Public and private streetscape landscaping (medians and frontage) will be watered on the same odd/even schedule.

While hand and manual watering follow the same odd/even house number schedule, it may be done at any time during the day.

There will be no washing of streets, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, buildings or other hardscape surfaces, except as necessary for health, sanitation or fire protection purposes.

Water will only be served upon request at restaurants.

No water from the city water system will be used for construction purposes without prior City approval.

As a reminder, if you install or already have a drip irrigation system and that is your sole source of watering, you are exempt from the WCO.

Why is Stage 2 required?

The WCO is part of North Bend City Council’s ongoing commitment to be good stewards of the environment, conserve a limited natural resource and protect the Snoqualmie River.

The City’s WCO stages are set by levels of the Chester Morse Lake Masonry Pool located near Rattlesnake Lake, which is owned by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). SPU provides/sells water to approximately 25 water jurisdictions in the region, including mitigation water to North Bend. During dry periods, all those water jurisdictions’ usage draw down Masonry Pool levels. Masonry Pool also feeds Hobo Springs through an underground moraine, which supplies the City with mitigation water which helps protect the health of the Snoqualmie River.

Earlier this year, the City was hopeful Stage 2 would not be needed - due to the fairly large preceding winter snowpack and cool, wet spring. However, once the dry heat arrived in the Puget Sound region in June, it did not leave. Western Washington is now experiencing its driest summer on record, since 1930 and warmest since the 1890s. In fact, according to the National Weather Service, on October 16, Seattle hit 88 degrees, its second warmest day in October in almost 130 years. The prolonged period with no rain, along with an unseasonably hot September and October, have drawn the Masonry Pool lower at a faster pace than anticipated.

For more details on the water conservation ordinance, visit the city of North Bend’s website.