Waite Park Watering Ban Starts Wednesday

(KNSI) – Waite Park residents will need to abide by a water ban in the city starting tomorrow.

The Waite Park City Council approved the water ban after a drought warning was declared for the state of Minnesota late last week. In a DNR report presented to the council Monday night, the city’s current rate of water use would likely bring the aquifer’s water level to a critical point if restrictions aren’t taken.

Starting Wednesday at midnight, Waite Park residents won’t be allowed to water their lawns, and the city will also cut back on almost all of its irrigation. (The exceptions are the River’s Edge ballfields and The Ledge Amphitheater.) Watering flower beds and boxes is allowed under Waite Park’s water ban.

The River’s Edge Splash Pad will also reduce its hours of operation to 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. starting Wednesday.

The city of St. Cloud, which sources its drinking water from the Mississippi River, has asked residents to cut back on their water use.

The DNR’s water use target for cities during drought periods is equal to 150 percent of the city’s average daily water use in the month of January. In January 2020, Waite Park used 633,000 gallons per day on average. With that amount, the DNR’s goal for Waite Park is 950,000 gallons per day. In the report shown to the city council Monday, the city of Waite Park and its residents were consuming 1,387,000 gallons of water per day in June 2021.

Correction: A previous version of this article included the incorrect new hours of operation for the River’s Edge Splash Pad. The splash pad’s hours of operation are 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

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