CHICKASHA – An ordinance imposing mandatory outdoor water rationing for customers of Chickasha’s municipal water system was adopted Friday evening during a special meeting of the City Council – and “boo birds” wasted no time in attacking it and the council’s motives.
Ordinance #2026-21 mandates that residents and businesses with odd numbered street addresses (such as 117 N. 4th Street) may water outdoors only on odd dates, such as Aug. 23, 25, 27, etc. Residents and businesses with even numbered addresses (such as 1700 Harly Day Drive) may water outdoors only on even dates, such as Aug. 24, 26, 28, etc.
Furthermore, watering is permitted on designated days only from midnight to 4 a.m. and from 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. No one is permitted to water on the 31st day of any month.
To reduce water usage while continuing to provide opportunities for local families to cool off and play, splash pads at Shannon Springs and Washita Valley parks will be open only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until further notice.
“Due to the extreme heat and drought conditions, we are seeing record high rates of water consumption,” said City Manager Jim Crosby. “Water rationing will allow us to continue providing water service with no interruptions and, more importantly, will help ensure the product coming out of the water treatment plant remains safe to drink and compliant with state Department of Environmental Quality regulations.”
Outdoor water use means any use of water from the city water system outside, including for landscape irrigation; washing vehicles, boats, trailers and equipment; washing or hosing off sidewalks, driveways, patios, etc.; filling or refilling swimming pools, spas, ponds, and ornamental fountains; and using outdoor misting and cooling devices.
Outdoor landscape irrigation is “the largest discretionary component of summer peak demand upon the city’s water system,” the new ordinance relates.
Wright Water, which operates Chickasha’s aged water treatment plant, reported that for approximately the last two weeks, a record high of 4.8 million gallons per day was treated and pumped out of the plant.
The concern, city officials said, is not a lack of water, but rather being able to treat and pump the amount of water to meet demand while meeting DEQ minimum water standards.
“Sustained extreme heat and the absence of meaningful rainfall have driven demand upon the City water system to a level at or near the maximum rate at which the water treatment plant is able to produce and deliver treated potable water into the distribution system,” the new ordinance explains.
When customer demand equals or exceeds the rate at which the plant can provide potable water, the volume of treated water held in storage declines and pressure falls throughout the water distribution system, endangering the health and safety of the entire community, the ordinance notes.
The current water treatment plant was built in the 1950s, records indicate. Until now, the maximum amount of water treated has been approximately 4.2 million gallons per day. The current strain on the system creates a higher risk of breaking equipment leading to catastrophic failure, officials report. Violators of the Chickasha water rationing ordinance may be subject to a $100 fine for their first offense, and the penalty increases to a $500 fine for a third or subsequent offense within any 12-month period.
Water rationing is ‘rare occurrence’
“This is a rare occurrence for us,” Mayor Zach Grayson told Southwest Ledger. “Until Friday night, we didn’t even have an ordinance on the books to address it.” If Chickasha’s new treatment plant were built and in operation, “We wouldn’t have this problem.”
Construction on the new facility began earlier this year. It is designed to produce 6 million gallons a day of purified water, expandable to 8 mgd, and is expected to be operational in late 2027 or early 2028.
The new ordinance includes several exceptions to the rationing limitations.
For example, hand watering is always allowed. Hand watering is defined as using a handheld hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle and held in the hand of the person applying the water, or by using a handheld bucket, watering can, or a similar container.
Other exceptions are provided for watering livestock, poultry or other animals, water used for firefighting or other public safety purposes, for drip irrigation systems, and for watering the foundation of any structure “by means of a soaker hose or a hand-held hose.” For a complete list of exceptions, the ordinance can be found on the city’s website and in the City Clerk’s office.
Water rationing went into effect Saturday and will continue until/unless the City Council votes to repeal part or all of the ordinance if/when demand declines.
Objections to the ordinance started almost immediately.
Comments about the water rationing ordinance enacted by the City Council have “truly perplexed me and wore me smooth out,” Grayson wrote on Facebook.” From comments such as “‘can’t tell me what to do,’ to ‘I pay for it, I’ll do what I want’ [both remarks are inaccurate: an ordinance is a municipal law], to ‘it’s stupid, Chickasha water is nasty anyway,’ or my personal favorite, ‘come and find me,’ and much more.”
No one likes to be told what to do, and no one especially likes for government to tell them what to do, Grayson acknowledged. “The libertarian in me completely understands where everyone is coming from.”
Nevertheless, “It’s about making sure ALL of our community members have safe water flowing to their homes. Knowing my elderly neighbor two doors down doesn’t have to worry about undertreated water or, worse yet, untreated water coming out of her faucet, lets me sleep at night.”
And that is the reason for rationing, the mayor said: “To make sure our water plant can keep up with demand during these extreme times. It’s not the input that’s the issue, it’s the output.”
Water rationing is “only temporary” and its goal is not “revenue collection” by way of imposing fines for violators of the new ordinance, Grayson said. “The city would make more money by just selling the water to citizens.”
Revenue is not the issue, he said. Conserving water is. Rationing “will ensure potable water flows to our community, neighbors and friends.”
As for Grayson, “I do not water my lawn. It’s crispy and brown, just like the way I like my bacon,” he wrote. “I love the passion this community has, but sometimes that passion can get misplaced when the full picture of the situation isn’t taken into account.”
City of Chickasha ‘late to the party’
“We’re late to the party,” Grayson told the Ledger. “Everybody around us is already rationing water.”
Lawton is in Stage 2 water conservation, limiting outdoor watering and mandating a “mid-day blackout” from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Norman enforces an oddeven lawn watering schedule. Watering is allowed only before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. to reduce evaporation. Also, properties with an odd-numbered address may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, while properties with an even-numbered address may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. No outdoor irrigation is allowed for either odd or even addresses on Mondays.
Edmond observes an oddeven lawn watering schedule year long. But Edmond recently moved to stage 2 of its water conservation schedule, limiting lawn watering to two days a week, after water consumption soared to upwards of 22 million gallons a day because of the heat.
Oklahoma City has odd-even water rationing all year long.