Portales residents asked to curb outdoor water usage

PORTALES — The city of Portales is asking residents to stop outdoor water usage over the weekend and into early next week.

The brief announcement from city administration said outdoor water usage includes but is not limited to lawn and garden watering, car washing and pools.

“The summer weather has been brutal,” the release said, “and the city’s water system has been challenged by more daily demand than the system can handle without having time to recharge.”

Residents are asked to stop such water usage on Saturday and continue through Tuesday.

The announcement does not refer to any penalties or enforcement.

The city council on July 7 approved Stage 2 Mandatory Water Rationing stage of its water conservation plan, right before the city went through a week-long heat wave that included daily triple-digit highs. That stage restricted lawn watering to three days per week, with a written warning for a first offense and potential service interruptions or disconnections for subsequent offenses.