PRESS RELEASE- Voluntary Water Conservation Notice

Water supplies in the Quilcene Watershed are below average.

PORT TOWNSEND – The City of Port Townsend has issued a voluntary water conservation notice to the 
community for households, businesses, and industrial water use. The City of Port Townsend relies on 
precipitation in the Olympic Mountains to meet our municipal and industrial water needs. Flow in the 
Big Quilcene River, our primary water source, is typically sustained by the snowpack through July. By 
early September it is often necessary to utilize water from Lords Lake, a 500-million-gallon storage 
reservoir, when low stream flows limit water withdrawals from the rivers. 

Dry conditions this year have accelerated depletion of the watershed snowpack. Drawdown of Lords 
Lake Reservoir this year began on August 11. This is a few weeks earlier than in an average year. While 
precipitation may minimize reservoir drawdown at times, the City is asking customers to voluntarily 
conserve water until autumnal rains replenish flow in the rivers. The PT Paper Company (Mill) uses a 
large proportion of the water supply and has implemented a number of additional conservation 
measures to reduce water consumption. Should the Lords Lake Reservoir empty, the Mill will be 
required to curtail operations or shutdown.

The City thanks water customers as well as the Mill for conservation measures that help reduce water 
use each fall when Lords Lake and stream flows are at their lowest. The City also appreciates ongoing 
water conservation efforts throughout the year to help reduce our community’s overall consumption.

                                                                #                                      #                                                  #

Find water conservation tips on our website: http://cityofpt.us/publicworks/page/water-conservation-tips

For more information on the Olympic Gravity Water System see:

http://cityofpt.us/publicworks/page/olympic-gravity-water-system-ogws

For technical data on stream flow, information is available online at USGS Current Conditions for USGS 12052210 BIG QUILCENE RIVER BELOW DIVERSION NR QUILCENE, WA