Continue with water conservation

La Conner residents are asked by the City of Anacortes and Skagit Public Utility District to voluntarily reduce their water use by 10% due to seasonal low water flow in the Skagit River. Anacortes supplies La Conner’s water.

The Washington State Department of Ecology has established minimum instream flows designed to protect fish habitat of 6.54 billion gallons per day for the Skagit River. In August, when the river’s flow levels fall below that number, Anacortes and the PUD are required to notify customers to conserve water voluntarily. The Skagit River falls below these levels most summers.

Conserving water helps increase the instream flow of water in rivers and streams. A minimum instream flow is the minimum amount of water to safeguard fish habitat. Increasing the instream flow helps fish swim upstream and down, improves spawning habitat and protects other wildlife and our future water resources.

The City of Anacortes is asking every customer to save 15-20 gallons of water daily. Some tips:

• Shorter showers save approximately 2.5 gallons per minute.

• Turn the water off when brushing teeth. Saves up to 8 gallons a day.

• Let lawns go dormant.

• Water plants deeply and less often.

• Flush the toilet less to save approximately 1.5 gallons per flush.

Source: City of Anacortes