Des Plaines residents can expect stringent lawn-sprinkler restrictions to continue this summer after city officials told aldermen recently that relaxing the curbs could raise concerns about adequate water pressure and emergency reserves for fighting fires.
Ald. Jean Higgason said she brought sprinkler restrictions up for reconsideration after learning some residents would like extra time to water gardens and lawns.
But Higgason dropped the idea at Monday night’s City Council meeting after Public Works Director Scott Shirley said that the curbs have helped conserve water needed for firefighting.
Shirley said in times of peak summer use, the city is able to store less than a day’s worth of Lake Michigan water in reserve.
Residents are allowed to turn on lawn sprinklers from 5 to 8 a.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. on odd or even days of the month, depending on their home addresses. Residents can use hand-held hoses at any time.
The city’s watering restrictions are stricter than those of some surrounding communities, Shirley said, but an aging infrastructure and lack of a second source of water mean “this is not the time to relax the restrictions.”