The Warrenton municipal pool has been a welcome sight for many looking to find a way to beat this week’s century-topping temperatures.
For two weeks, the pool mostly resembled a ghost town.
Warrenton city officials lifted mandatory water conservation measures on Friday, a move that led to the pool being reopened that same day. Commercial car washes also are back in operation.
The city is limiting the use of irrigation systems between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Both the pool and car washes had been closed and activities that required large amounts of water had been prohibited since July 5 when the mandatory restrictions were implemented. The city was able to revert back to voluntary conservation measures upon completion of a well pump replacement project. Mayor Jerry Dyer said the new pump was in operation Thursday, but samples had to be tested over a 24-hour period to make sure there were no issues with the water quality.
As part of the project at Well No. 6, located near Chic Lumber, a new pump was installed and lowered to around 160 feet in the 1,200-foot deep well so that it could operate more effectively. The emergency project cost the city around $87,000.
Dyer said he appreciated the residents’ understanding of the situation and reducing their consumption.
“I commend the people for how cooperative they were,” Dyer said. “They seemed to understand. They knew it was an unpleasant task, but they followed it.”
The city is continuing to ask residents and businesses to reduce their water usage on a voluntary basis, such as when they are watering lawns, washing vehicles, filling swimming pools, cleaning exterior surfaces and controlling dust.
Though the pool is now open, the water slides and spray ground area will remain closed.
As the severe drought conditions continue, Dyer is hopeful the mandatory measures won’t need to be revisited.
“I’m optimistic as long as we don’t have another well or pump issue,” he said. “We need rain, lots of rain. But from what the well drillers told us, we should be fine.”
Voluntary water conservation measures remain in effect in Truesdale and Wright City.
A countywide no-burn order also is in effect. It has been in place since June 28 when county commissioners issued the notice following requests by fire chiefs from Warrenton, Wright City and Marthasville. The order prohibits county residents from open burning of any kind.
