Next Steps If Drought Worsens in St. Cloud

The rain in the city of St. Cloud over the past couple of days has helped but drought conditions continue to be a factor in the city.  St. Cloud Public Services Director Tracy Hodel joined me on WJON.  She indicates there are no current watering restrictions in the city but she encourages residents to conserve water where they can.  Hodel indicates this includes always watering your lawn when the sun isn't out to maximize your water use.  She says landscapers have informed her allowing your lawn to go dormant won't hurt the lawn and when rain picks up the lawn will green up again.

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If the drought were to worsen in St. Cloud Hodel says the trigger for them would be if the water levels in the Mississippi River watershed near Brooklyn Park drop to 2,000  cubic feet per second for 5 consecutive days.  If that were to happen Hodel explains they would go into a drought phase which would require watering restrictions.  The level right now is 2800 cubic feet per second, which is where it has been for the past 2 weeks.

In the drought of 2021 in St. Cloud Hodel explains they were pretty effective in asking residents to only water lawns once or twice a week.  She explains cities that depend on wells and underground aquafers are already on odd/even watering restrictions.  St. Cloud uses the Mississippi River for its water.  Hodel says in 2021 they quickly came out of the drought with significant rainfall in the month of August.  She says with steady rain they can bounce back quickly.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Tracy Hodel it is available below.