Water conservation measures by City of Bloomington residents are still voluntary for now. Mayor Dan Brady said if the levels in the reservoir fall another two feet, they might not stay optional.
"At that particular time, if we get there—we hope we don't get there—that's why we are doing the conservation we are now more intensely. You have to look at the things that potentially could be more of a mandate. As of now, we're not there," said Brady.
Lakes Bloomington and Evergreen are 10 feet below adequate levels amid drought conditions. They fell two feet in the last month. If they drop another two feet, Brady said another section of the ordinance governing drought proclamations could kick in.
The city has said residents cut back on water use by 3%-6% following the first drought proclamation. Last week the city issued a second conservation call and raised the goal to a 10% reduction in use.
Brady said the city has no current plans to close the Bloomington Ice Center or to avoid filling city pools to conserve water later this year.
"I think that's something to be considered. And it would be considered by the administration and council. We hope we don't get to that point where we would have to make a decision like that," said Brady.
Brady said the city has been talking to major consumers of water such as Rivian, State Farm, and restaurants about lowering usage.
Brady said given the drought, it would be a good idea for Bloomington to develop the capacity for real time metering of all users. The city water department said some newer meters can do that. Older ones can't. Real time metering allows the city to contact residents when water use spikes, such as when there’s a running toilet in a home.
The national weather service in Lincoln predicts mild weather over the next week with only a modest chance of rain, mainly for an area south of Interstate 72 between Champaign and Springfield.
Tour de Chocolat
Brady said he was pleased with the results of last Friday’s Tour de Chocolat in downtown Bloomington. The event offered free sweets at various venues, as part of a city boosted First Friday event.
The city earlier decided to pull back on blanket support of all First Friday events downtown and to concentrate promotional efforts on just a few, such as the Tour, the Route 66 Festival and holiday events. Downtown merchants said they plan to continue other First Friday concepts.
“What I picked up was a sense that the city emphasis and priority on maybe three focused managed city events, or co-city events, was warmly received,” said Brady.
Brady said city figures suggest downtown attendance was more than 17,000 people on Friday. Brady noted weather was less harsh than it has been recently. The tally included numbers from two events at Grossinger Motors Arena.
“Every weekend is not going to bring us an Illinois High School Association [IHSA] event such as the cheerleading, and the weekend before that, the dance squads in that buckle area,” said Brady.
He said the city estimated attendance at the events grew by 3% from the prior year. He said sales at the arena topped $105,000 for the weekend.
