Per City Manager, Brad Matkin, Management Action #5 of the Water Warning Plan:
The City of Fort Scott Splash Pad will be closed Wednesday 8/30, Thursday 8/31, and Friday 9/1 reopening on Saturday 9/2, Sunday 9/3, and Monday 9/4 from 8am to 7pm. After Monday at 8pm the Splash Pad will be closed for the season.
Here is the plan in its entirety as it has been posted:
Water Warning Plan
DROUGHT RESPONSE
Effective 8/30/2023
The City of Fort Scott addresses its short-term water shortage problems through a series of stages based on conditions of supply and demand with accompanying triggers, goals, and actions. Each stage is more stringent in water use than the previous stage since water supply conditions are more deteriorated. The City Manager is authorized by ordinance to implement the appropriate conservation measures.
Water Warning
Goals:
The goals of this stage are to reduce peak demands by 20% and to reduce overall weekly consumption by 10%.
Triggers:
This stage is triggered by any one of the following conditions:
- The City’s storage has fallen below 70 percent capacity and will not recover within a normal amount of time.
Education Actions
- The City will make news releases to the local media describing present conditions and indicating the water supply outlook for the upcoming week.
- Water conservation articles will be provided to the local newspaper.
Management Actions: What measures the city will do
- The City water supplies will be monitored closely.
- Leaks will be repaired within 24 hours of detection.
- The City will monitor its use of water and will curtail activities such as hydrant flushing and street cleaning.
- The City will curtail its water usage, including operation of fountains, watering of City grounds and washing of vehicles.
- The City of Fort Scott Splash Pad will be closed Wednesday 8/30, Thursday 8/31, and Friday 9/1 reopening on Saturday 9/2, Sunday 9/3, and Monday 9/4 from 8am to 7pm. After Monday at 8pm the Splash Pad will be closed for the season.
- Water will be drawn from the City’s reservoirs as needed.
Regulation Actions:
- The public will be asked to voluntarily make efficient use of indoor water, i.e., wash full loads, take short showers, do not let faucets run, etc.
- Outdoor water use, including lawn watering and car washing will be restricted to before 10:00 am and after 9:00 pm.
- All consumers will be asked to limit or eliminate nonessential water uses including, but not limited to the following uses:
- Watering lawns, shrubs, trees.
- Washing automobiles.
- Filling swimming pools or using water in fountains and evaporative air conditioning systems.
- Refilling of swimming pools will be allowed one day a week after sunset.
- Outdoor watering will be restricted to use of a hand-held hose or bucket only.
- Excess water use charges for usage of water over the amount used in the winter will be considered.
- Waste of water will be prohibited.
As of right now, the City water supply is not affected by the “Water Emergency” set by the Governor of Kansas. That emergency was to allow the counties noted to request water to be taken out of “state” water sources. The City of Fort Scott owns Lake Fort Scott and Cedar Creek is not a state-owned lake, so permission is not required.
Lake Fort Scott, Cedar Creek, and Rock Creek are the three sources we use to get water for the City of Fort Scott river intake system.
As of right now, Cedar Creek has a good supply of water, but we are taking water from this source daily, and we have not taken water from Lake Fort Scott. If we are forced to take water out of Lake Fort Scott, we will issue a Water Warning Stage #2 which will require additional water restrictions.
We are in a drought situation that must be taken seriously, and the City of Fort Scott will do whatever possible to maintain good levels of water for the citizens. Please help us by following the restrictions that have been imposed.
If you have any questions, please contact me at the email address below.
Thank you,
Brad Matkin
City Manager
City of Fort Scott