Village Water Usage Hits 9 Million Gallons Friday

As the hottest day of this oppressive heat wave is upon us, water usage in Garden City has reached 9+ million gallons pumped as of Friday.

Public Works director Robert Mangan said the village is meeting the demand but hopes the heat wave ends this weekend.

"The normal July daily pumpage is between 5.5 and 7 million gallons per day," Mangan said. "We pumped over 9 million gallons the last two days."

Garden City's water system has 104 miles of pipes and 10 wells. There are five above-ground tanks with 5,000,000 gallons of water storage, according to the village's website.

The village's lawn watering regulations allow residents to water between the hours of 5 and 10 a.m. and 6 and 10 p.m. Residents with odd-numbered addresses may only water on odd-numbered days; residents with even-numbered addresses, or premises without a numbered address, may only water on even-numbered days.

During times of excessive heat and lack of rain residents are encouraged to voluntarily reduce outdoor water usage like lawn watering and car washing until there's rain in order to avoid any problems that might hinder the village's ability to provide water for fire protection and other essential services.

The current temperature in Garden City is 98 degrees, but it actually feels like 111 degrees with the heat index. An excessive heat warning remains in effect until 8 p.m. Friday. There's a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and evening. Sunday expect a more comfortable high of 84.