Mandatory Water Conservation
of the Town’s Municipal Water System
The Town of Front Royal Department of Environmental Services has observed that the 14-day rolling average stream flow rate of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River has dropped below 340 cubic feet per second (cfs), or approximately 220 million gallons per day. The average river flow for 2007 as measured by the United States Geological Survey was 1,774 cfs, indicating that the river is flowing at 19% of last year’s average flow. The Town’s permit for water withdrawal from the river issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality stipulates certain river flow rates require various conservation measures. As a result of this reduced river flow and in compliance with the issued withdrawal permit, all users of the Town of Front Royal’s municipal water system are advised to observe mandatory water conservation efforts.
During periods of mandatory water conservation, all users of Front Royal municipal water system shall be prohibited from the following:
1.The watering of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, or any other vegetation from Town water supplies (except indoor plantings, greenhouse and commercial nursery stocks, and new plantings less than one year old) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
2.The outdoor washing of automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, airplanes, or other types of mobile equipment, except in a commercial vehicle wash facility.
3.The washing of private streets, driveways, parking lots, service station grounds, or other paved outdoor surfaces.
4.The operation of any ornamental fountains, unless the water is recycled. Municipal ornamental fountains shall be cleaned and closed within two (2) days of the mandatory water conservation restriction declaration.
5.The filling of swimming and/or wading pools, except that filled pools may be topped off to maintain the appropriate levels for use.
Violation of any of these mandatory water conservation activities can be punished by a fine up to $1000 per offense committed. In addition, each day that a violation occurs can be punished as a separate offense. Water users are urged to comply with these efforts.
Water users are requested to continue to reduce water usage through various other water conservation measures.
Thank you for your assistance in conserving our water resources during this low river flow time period. Please monitor your local media sources for future reports of water conservation efforts in the Town of Front Royal.
If you have any questions about this project, please contact the Department of Environmental Services at (540) 635-7819.
That’s a good point. I got one of the shower heads that limit flow and it works well. It also saves you money and saves the hot water for big families with small water heaters!
good point wcrnews! I have also been considering an on-demand hot water tank to cut down on the costs.
On another note, i looked under my sink, and in both the kitchen and the bathroom, the hot water pipe coming out from the wall and up to the faucet – was not insulated at all! That means that every time i turn on the hot water, there is a fair bit of water that runs out (wasted) before it turns to hot water. I plan on insulating this 2-3 feet of copper pipe to reduce heat loss and thus water loss.