Summer’s over but Lincoln residents are still using a lot of water to keep their lawns green. City Public Works and Utilities officials say that’s OK. They recognize that Lincoln is a growing city  and people like to have nice lawns.

But they also say Lincolnites should be thinking about the future and how they use their water.

Consider this:

* Water use for the last fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, was the fourth highest on record, mostly due to lack of rainfall.

*  In July, the city used 2.1 billion gallons of water, the highest use for that month since 1974.

*  Residents are using more water in the morning hours, a shift from past years when consumption was somewhat balanced between morning and evening. Officials say lawn sprinkler systems are playing a big role in the change.

* Lincoln Water System customers will be paying 7 percent more for their water beginning in February.

 Public Utilities Administrator Steve Masters said Lincolnites can expect more rate increases in future years as the city expands its water treatment and transport systems to keep up with the anticipated growth.

 The department’s expansion plans include a $20 million water main from Greenwood to Lincoln. That would give the city three lines from Greenwood instead of the present  two .

 Public Works and Utilities also wants to add more wells near its Ashland water treatment plant,  boosting the city’s water capacity by about 35 million gallons per day. Total cost of that project could be as high as $18.8 million.

The Lincoln Water System can now deliver about 110 million gallons per day to its customers.

 Masters said the city won’t be running out of water anytime soon but he wants Lincolnites to use their water wisely and as efficiently as possible.

 “It’s incumbent on our community to realize that the drought does affect the supply of water,” Masters said. “And it’s best not to take the availability of water for granted.”

 Masters and John Miriovsky, superintendent of water production, said this was a tough summer because of  high temperatures and lack of rainfall.

“We had more days over 90 (degrees) this summer than last summer,” Miriovsky said.

 In summer 2004, Lincoln had 19 days when the temperature was greater than 90 degrees. This past summer, the city experienced 40 such days.

  It’s also been a very dry year. As of Thursday, Lincoln was almost 4 inches below normal in terms of precipitation for the year, said Dave Eastlack, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

 Last month was the fifth driest September on record. Total precipitation for that month was 0.28 of an inch. In September, Lincoln usually gets about 3 inches of rainfall.

   The Platte River, one of three rivers that supplies Lincoln with water, also has been hurting. Jerry Obrist, chief engineer for the Lincoln Water System, said the Platte went dry upstream from Columbus in July and continues to have very low flows. Fortunately, most of Lincoln’s water comes from the Elkhorn and Loup rivers.

Between Aug. 5 and Oct. 10, there were 53 days when the recording gauge at Duncan, Neb., showed no flows in the Platte River, according to Phil Soenksen, chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s hydrological data section in Lincoln.

 Public Works and Utilities officials implemented a voluntary water conservation plan this summer and that helped keep water use down. Without the voluntary plan, Public Works officials said, water use would have been 5 million to 10 million gallons more per day.

“People did step up,” Masters said.

The last time Lincoln had a mandatory water conservation plan was in 2002, due to the drought. Lincolnites reduced their water consumption by about 20 million gallons per day back then.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.