Politics & Government

As Temps Increase, Officials Say Lawn Sprinkling in Tinley Must Decrease

A proactive water conservation plan is now in effect Wednesday through Sunday.

The hot, muggy weather is affecting more than just your hairstyle. As of Thursday, it's essentially dictating when and how often you can water your plants, lawns or sprinkle your Tinley Park yard.

Village officials announced Tuesday night what they called a "proactive approach to water conservation" that will last through the current heat wave, which is expected to continue bombarding residents with indexes of more than 100 degrees. Beginning today, outdoor sprinkling will only be allowed between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on odd or even days that coincide with residents' addresses.

For example, if your address is 807, you can water between those hours on odd days only. If your address is 810, it's all even days for you.

The conservation plan was prompted by a recent uptick in water use, officials said.

"As you can see, for the past several days, our demand has exceeded 18 million gallons," Village Trustee Thomas Staunton, who's also the chair of the public works committee, said in a written memo. "With the forecast for the next four to five days, we expect that this demand will remain steady or could possibly increase if there's no measurable rainfall."

Local water is primarily supplied through Oak Lawn, which also services New Lenox and Mokena. The tanks have a 20 million gallon capacity, Mayor Ed Zabrocki said Tuesday.

"It's important to emphasize that we are being proactive with this," he said. "We don't need to do this. But with the weather continuing over the next seven to 10 days, I'd rather we be safe."

As of Tuesday, supply levels in the Oak Lawn levels were hovering around 70 percent, he said, which is perfectly acceptable for this time of year. But water use increases by 10 to 20 percent on the weekends. That could translate to a dip in supply — it may lower stock to around 60 percent, village documents said.

The better-safe-than-sorry conservation plan discussed Tuesday will help ensure a safe water supply for local health, fire protection and environmental purposes, Zabrocki said.

Tinley Park is working with neighboring communities to monitor water levels and act accordingly, officials said. Mokena entered a voluntary water reduction phase on Monday and Orland Park is expected to enforce a similar plan to Tinley's from Wednesday to Sunday.

Updates on current conservation efforts will be posted on the village website, as well as on signs throughout town. Residents can also subscribe to the Community E-mail Program to get direct updates. For information on water conservation and how to keep your lawn green during hot weather, visit the "Going Green" section of the village's site.


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