The city of Bend has implemented a stage 1 water curtailment alert after Governor Kate Brown declared Deschutes County to be in a state of drought.
Bend’s curtailment is a voluntary alert and reminds citizens to use their water wisely. The city has two water sources which come from Bridge Creek and the Deschutes Regional Aquifer. Bend water conservation program manager Mike Buettner says citizens should focus on efficiency.
Buettner: “Make sure that when they irrigate they aren’t over spraying onto nearby sidewalks and streets, make sure that they are keeping all the water on the landscape and really watching for leaks and making sure that you’re only providing as much water as your plant material or landscape actually needs.”
Buettner says drier and warmer than normal temperatures are expected through the summer. And since Bend has a supply of surface and ground water, their dual sources help make up for the lack of water available from this year’s low snowpack.