
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990                   TAG: 9007200677
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RENOVATION BRINGS PLEA TO CONSERVE WATER

Roanoke has asked city residents to begin voluntarily conserving water because the renovation of the Falling Creek water filter plant will begin soon causing a 5 percent decrease in the amount of water available on a daily basis.

The city has plenty of water, but the demand on some days matches the city water treatment plants' capacity, said City Manager Robert Herbert.

"We don't have a shortage of untreated water. The problem is that our water treatment plants can only treat so much water a day, and on many days we're using every drop of water we can treat," Herbert said today.

"When the Falling Creek plant is taken out of service for renovation, the situation could become critical at peak demand periods," he said.

Renovation of the Falling Creek plant will begin Sept. 1.

Roanoke County residents who depend on the city for water also are asked to begin voluntary conservation, said Kit Kiser, city director of utilities and operations.

The city provides about three million gallons of water daily to the county. Craig Sluss, manager of the city Water Department, said the county has been getting more water from the city recently because it had a well out.

Roanoke has the capacity to treat 23.5 million gallons of water per day through its three treatment plants. The Carvins Cove plant can treat 18 million gallons a day, Crystal Spring can produce 3.5 million gallons and Falling Creek can treat 2 million gallons.

On July 9, the city produced 23.6 million gallons to meet an all-time high demand for water, exceeding the rated capacity.

"With that kind of demand, we can't treat the water fast enough," said Herbert. "That means people living in higher elevations are experiencing no water or low water pressure at certain times of the day. When the Falling Creek plant is out of operation, those demands will be even more severe."

The renovation project is expected to take one year and will bring the plant up to current state standards.

City officials are asking residents to use conservation measures such as turning off the faucet when brushing teeth, limited watering of lawns, washing full loads of laundry and dishes and installing conservation devices such as low-flow shower heads and water restrictors.

Herbert said the city is developing a plan to help educate residents about conservation efforts that will need to be continued through 1991.

by CNB