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Derby adopts permanent three‑day‑a‑week watering restrictions, updates water conservation plan
Summary
Council adopted an ordinance making permanent a three‑day‑a‑week outdoor watering schedule (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) with no watering from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., plus a variance process; the change follows regional actions and aims to conserve reservoir levels.
The Derby City Council voted 7‑0 on Sept. 9 to adopt permanent outdoor watering regulations and to update the city’s water conservation plan to reflect the change.
City Manager Kyle Mangus said the move aligns Derby with recent action by Wichita and other regional wholesale customers and is intended to reduce drawdowns on Cheney Reservoir and the Equus beds over time. Under the ordinance the city will permit outdoor irrigation on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; permitted watering hours on those days will be midnight–10 a.m. and 6 p.m.–midnight, and watering during the heat of day (10 a.m.–6 p.m.) is prohibited. Private wells and hand watering are exempt from the restrictions (hand watering is allowed outside the 10 a.m.–6 p.m. restriction).
Mangus highlighted results from the most recent year: “In that August to August time frame of this last year, we saved 224,000,000 gallons of water over the prior year,” he said, noting the community‑wide conservation effort helped regional reservoir levels. The ordinance also establishes a variance process so homeowners or contractors can seek limited, temporary additional watering — for example, to establish sod or seed after armyworm damage — with staff review.
Staff said the city will publish an FAQ, the variance form and educational materials, and will use the city’s customer portal and smart‑meter data to monitor compliance. Enforcement will follow the approach used during prior phase‑based drought restrictions (warnings followed by enforcement for repeat violations); staff said they will allow a short adjustment period after adoption so residents and landscaping contractors can reprogram timers.
The permanent restrictions are distinct from emergency phased conservation measures: if Cheney Lake or regional conditions require stricter phase‑based limits, those measures would supersede the permanent rule and the city would follow its conservation plan phases 1–4 as required.
