Water utility asking for conservation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - It’s been three months since we’ve had any significant precipitation in the Albuquerque area and the outlook for rain is not good.

That has prompted the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority to push for a drought advisory.

The advisory is essentially a wake-up call for people to start conserving before they are forced to.

“We’re in danger of not meeting our conservation goal, and in the long run that is important because we have to reduce our per-capita consumption in this community,” said David Morris with the water authority.

A combination of no rainfall and people using too much water has them taking this step.

Morris said the advisory is the first step in a progression that could require mandatory water restrictions, something Morris said the utility has not done since 2006.

“We’re asking everyone who uses water to look at ways that they can use less,” Morris said.

The water authority says we’ve already reached summer water use levels, using about 600 million gallons more than we did at this time last year.

“The big issue obviously in the drought and in the spring and summer is outdoor watering, landscapes and that sort of thing,” Morris said.

Since it has been so dry inspectors said violations stick out big time, things like water spraying into the street or watering during the restricted times of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Already this year they’ve doubled the number of violations reporter over this same time period last year; more than 800 have been given since Jan. 1.

The fines range from $20 to $2,000 depending on the violation.

“When it gets really dry I think people just need to be reminded, hey, let's tap the breaks and not get too carried away with the watering,” Morris said.

The drought advisory will go before the water utility board on Wednesday when it is expected to be approved.

Mandatory water restrictions will depend on the weather and customers' willingness to cut back their usage.