Tennessee American Water is asking water customers in its Suck Creek District to voluntarily conserve water usage for non-essential purposes until further notice from the company.
Extreme drought has caused decrease in the well capacity at the Suck Creek water plant. The Suck Creek wells provide two-thirds of the water for the approximately 250 customers in Suck Creek in Marion County. The remaining one-third is provided through a connection with Walden’s Ridge Utility District, which purchases its water through Hixson Utility District.
This voluntary measure to conserve non-essential water use will limit additional demand on Walden’s Ridge Utility District and Hixson Utility District’s source.
“This is only a precautionary measure as we continue to monitor the main source for Suck Creek,” stated Kevin Kruchinski, Director of Operations for Tennessee American Water. “We have access to additional water for Suck Creek through our connection with Walden’s Ridge Utility District. We want to share with the community conservation practices as we are seeing drought conditions throughout the region.”
This water conservation notice does not apply to customers in the Chattanooga area or in Whitwell since the water sources are different.
Tips for conserving water include the following:
Inside your house:
· Shorten showers to 7-10 minutes
· Turn off the water while brushing teeth
· Run only full loads in your dishwasher
· Rinse produce in a basin rather than under running water
· Adjust the water level on your washing machine to match the size of your load
· Check your toilets for leaks
Outside your house:
· Use a broom, not a hose, for cleaning patios, sidewalks and driveways
· Cover your pool or spa to reduce evaporation
· Avoid washing your motor vehicles, trailers and boats.
· Water your lawn and plants only when needed and in the early morning or late afternoon to limit evaporation
· Use a spray nozzle with a shut-off valve on your hose