The Town of Okotoks is continuing to keep a close eye on water levels as consumption remains at an all time high.

Last weekend the Town was pumping out around 15,000 cubic metres a day which is 25% over their capacity to produce water.

Dawn Smith, sustainability coordinator for the Town of Okotoks, says it's an issue of record setting heat and residents maybe needing to alter their expectations.

"I've never seen this and I've worked here for eight years, getting this kind of heat repeatedly weekend after weekend, and especially because it's hitting the exact watering days which is very difficult," she says. "I think people maybe need to change their expectations of their grass being perfectly green. No matter how much water you're giving right now with this heat it's impossible to keep a pristine lawn."

She adds if people let their lawns go brown they won't actually die but instead will go dormant for the rest of the summer and will come back in the spring.

The water issue is also being compounded by the Sheep River. The Town is able to withdraw less from the river now due to the heat and dry conditions which Smith says is being seen regionally and not just in Okotoks. The more water that's consumed and distributed over a wider area of land results in the ground water system taking longer to recharge, meaning the wells are able to access less water from the river at a given time.

Smith says there's a possibility further watering restrictions will be put in place.

"If we keep continually hitting the 15,000 cubic metres a day, because our capacity to produce is only 11,000 cubic metres per day so again we're over consuming by that 25%, if we're unable to refill the reservoirs on the Mondays and Tuesdays we're probably going to have to reduce those watering days down as we've discussed."

For more information on the Town's watering schedule and up to date information on water consumption click here.

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