Selma water customers limited to watering on Tuesday and Saturday during drought

Selma residents will be limited to watering their lawns on Tuesday and Saturday until the heat and drought let up.

Selma Mayor and Water Board Chairman James Perkins Jr. announced Friday that the Selma Water and Sewer Board is reducing watering to two days a week as part of its water conservation plan. The restrictions take effective Aug. 25 and will remain in place until the heat and drought lessen their grip on the Queen City.

“We took similar steps in 2007, so this is not unprecedented,” Perkins said.

Water Superintendent Robert Bridges said city residents use between 200,000 and 300,000 gallons of water a day on irrigation, so cutting back watering to two days could decrease water usage by as much as 1.5 million gallons a week.

Bridges said the water board wants to make sure water is available to handle an emergency like a fire or a broken main. He also said the city’s pumps need some relief. Pumps have been running around the clock for more than three weeks to meet demand, and ADEM recommends that water pumps should operate no more than 18 hours a day.

Selma water customers who are caught watering on days other than Tuesday or Saturday will receive a warning on the first offense and a 40% fine on the water bill for the second offense. On a third offense, the water board will clap a flow restricting device on their water meter. And the customer will have to pay $50 to have it installed and removed during business hours and $80 outside normal business hours.

Perkins said the city has a permanent “no burn order,” but he will ask police and code enforcement to be on the look out for trash fires during the draught and water restrictions.

“If we work together, we can be successful,” Perkins said.