City To Enforce Water Restrictions

Despite recent rainfall, much of Jefferson County remains in a severe or extreme drought, according to the University of Nebraska’s drought monitor. A lack of significant precipitation has put a strain on the city’s wells.In response, the Fairbury City Council voted to approve a drought emergency contingency plan that establishes procedures for restriction of water use in the event of water shortages. The ordinance includes penalties for failure to comply. The new rules also apply to all properties in Fairbury, not just residential properties. On June 22 of this year, Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown announced a water emergency due to the lack of precipitation. Per §51.48 (C) (3) of the Municipal Code, residential water usage is regulated by limiting addresses ending in even numbers to outdoor water usage, including watering lawns, washing vehicles, etc. to even calendar days. Addresses ending in odd numbers are limited to odd calendar days.Ordinance 3114 was introduced at a meeting of the council on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, which amended Ordinance 3032. At that meeting, Water Superintendent Jeff Sweetser gave a report in which he expressed concern about the capacity of the wells to meet the increasing demand. Sweetser said, “We had a deal last Thursday (July 27) where we actually used 1,730,000 gallons of water.”City Councilperson Brad Kuzelka expressed surprise at the amount of water being used, “Where’s our water going? Because the wastewater treatment plant brings in 300,000 gallons a day. So, with 1,700,000, every person in this town would have to use 435 gallons a day.”Kuzelka said, “You got a million gallons of water going somewhere. On the lawns?”Sweetser pointed out that it is not just residential areas that irrigate lawns, “You look at the baseball field. They water about every day now.” Councilperson Doug Brown suggested, “I’d like to see the commercial users in this somewhere. I mean, I don’t think it is right we shut all the residents off and the commercial users just keep going on. I think they should be included in the restriction.”The council passed the ordinance, changing the language from “residents” to “properties” and “houses to ”addresses.” The city gets its water from four wells. Three of those are in the East Wellfield. A fourth well at Crystal Springs has been offline since 2021 due to biofilm causing issues with the wells.Water restrictions were issued for the City of Fairbury on May 24 of this year. As of press time, those restrictions remain in place.

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