Rain, low temperatures drops Carson water usage

Thunderstorms and lower temperatures in the past two days have dropped water usage in Carson City.

People in Carson City used 17 million gallons of water Thursday, allowing the city Utilities Department to make headway in getting more water into storage tanks, said Tom Hoffert, the city's utilities operation manager.

Water usage hit 20.8 million gallons on Sunday and Tuesday, essentially red-lining the water system. Once the consumption rate tops 20.3 million gallons a day, more water is used than can be replenished in the tanks.

Cooler temperatures also brought far fewer water conservation violations. The city's water cops handed out only about 20 citations on Friday for people watering lawns on the wrong days in the odd-even water schedule. When the temperature hit a record 100 degrees on Tuesday, more than 200 people got tickets.