Water Warning – June 24, 2021

Dear Orange City Resident,

We continue to see the effects of the current drought conditions in our area. Our portion of northwest Iowa continues to be in a severe drought. These conditions will require some additional restrictions.
The total rainfall amounts this spring have not made up for the lack of rain during much of 2020.
The effect on the City of Orange City is the limit of water being produced by the Floyd wellfields (Dunlop Pond area) and the West Branch wellfields (Hyman Pit area). We have very good quality water produced in our deep wells located at the Southwest wellfields (2 miles west and 4 miles south of Orange City) – but this amount is limited. We also have water from our local deep well (near water treatment plant) – but this water is not as high quality and takes a great deal of effort to treat.
The City is currently planning with DGR Engineers for new wells in the Southwest wellfield area, along with additional distribution lines to meet our growing need for quality water. We will also be adding additional storage. These plans are in the works and we are hopeful will be on line in 2022.
To manage our current supply, the City Council recently passed an ordinance that limits the water use for lawn watering and other uses of large quantities of water. The Council also approved new water rates that have increased costs for water use during the summer. These additional revenues will fund the water system upgrades over time.
The full ordinance can be found on the Orange City web site: orangecityiowa.com/water-watch/
Effective immediately we are moving to the Water Warning phase of the ordinance. Your understanding and cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Earl Woudstra, City Administrator