“They are a big drain on our system,” said Chanhassen Utilities Supervisor Kelley Janes. He said irrigation accounts for 75 percent of the water use in the city limits.

Janes said water usage became a public safety issue in July when two of the city’s 10 wells went down due to low water levels, and another well went down due to mechanical problems.

“This put us in a bad position very quickly,” he said. “Your ability to pump water and keep your tanks full for that potential fire especially in hot conditions, it becomes dangerous. We had to put a stop to this peak usage.”

The city doesn’t know when it will lift the ban.

Source: wcco.com