Oxford Township water customers are being told to restrict their outdoor water usage until further notice.
The manadatory restriction began Thursday, June 10 following the township board’s vote to impose it the day before at the request of the Oakland County Drain Commission and the township engineer.
All customers served by the township water system are directed to follow odd/even outdoor watering requirements when engaging in activites such as lawn sprinkling, garden watering, car washing, filling swimming pools, etc.
Individuals with odd-numbered addresses are restricted to outdoor watering only on odd-numbered days. Likewise residents with even-numbered addresses shall do their outdoor watering on even-numbered days.
These manadatory restrictions will remain in place until further notice, according to officials. They do not apply to customers on the Oxford Village water system, which is completely separate.
It’s also recommended that water customers restrict their daily outdoor usage during the ‘peak hours? of 5 to 9 a.m., the time in the day when the system is being utilized the most.
Township customers are advised to do their outdoor watering prior to the hottest part of the day (Noon to 4 p.m.) based on turf studies completed by Michigan State University.
The mandatory restrictions were necessary because ‘recent water usuage has been significantly higher than normal,? according to information distributed by the township.
‘In fact, peak hourly usage is more than five times higher than average day usage,? the information sheet stated.
Given the large quantity of rain which has blanketed Oxford in May and now June, township Engineer Shannon Parry, of Rowe, Inc., was asked why usage is still so high.
Her answer ? ‘irrigation.?
Despite all the rain, ‘people are still irrigating,? she said.
Even when it’s raining, people’s automatic sprinkler systems are still going off at their pre-programmed times, said Parry, noting she witnesses it firsthand while driving through the township.
Water usage’two or three times? higher than normal is a common trend in communities with a lot of new developments, which tend to have automatic sprinkler systems, Parry said.
Last week on a day when the temperature reached 90 degrees Farenheit, Parry said the township’s 500,000-gallon water tower in the Red Barn subdivision dropped to about half its capacity. This ‘key drop,? as Parry called it, signalled the need for usage restrictions.
This is the third consecutive year the township has had to impose such restrictions as precautionary measure to ensure the system has the capacity to deal with emergency situations such as a water main break or structure fire.