HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the hot weather comes an increase in water use by city residents.
That use is showing up at the city’s water plant where the amount of water use has increased over the past several 
days. Plant manager Don Koci says that during the cool weather last week, the plant was down to 7.5 million gallons per day. This week that increased to about 8.5 million, and if the weather continues through the weekend, it could jump to about 10.5 million gallons per day. Koci says those numbers aren’t unusual this time of year, but says the cool weather last week made for a nice break from the usual high pumping rates that come with the summer months.
During the summer, the plant can average 10 to 12 million gallons of water use per day. Compare that to the winter months where the city uses about 3.5 million gallons of water per day and you can see how any temperature change can affect the amount of water city residents use. Koci also reported that the RO plant is running smoothly after a series of mechanical incidents forced Public Works to replace several of the large valves that bring water into and out of the plant.
Koci said it was a good learning experience for his staff.