WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Recent rains will be good for the pocketbooks of Wichita residents who use a lot of water.
City staff decided Monday to back away from plans to issue $1,000 fines or increase water rates by 500 percent for the highest water users. The city council was scheduled to consider those measures at its Tuesday meeting.
The decision comes after last week’s heavy rains significantly increased the water in Cheney Reservoir, the city’s main source of water. The city says the reservoir is now 72 percent full.
Instead, city officials will ask the council to approve such measures as drawing more water from the Equus Beds aquifer and using a $1 million rebate program to encourage the water-saving devices such things as rain barrels.
