By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Watering restrictions in the city of Hays went into effect June 1 and continue through Sept. 30.

No outside watering is allowed from city sources or private wells between noon and 7 p.m. and no water may escape business or residential property.

With regular rain showers falling this spring and memories of last June’s 9.45 inches of rain which set the Smoky Hill River flowing, it’s easy to think the drought in Hays is over.

Not so, according to Bernie Kitten, Director of Utilities.

“The water levels (in the city’s wells) are quite high.  We should make it through the summer without any trouble.  But there is still a drought–we haven’t broken that yet,” Kitten said.

According to official weather records kept by the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town, Hays remains about 12 inches behind in average rainfall since 2010.

As of June 10, 8.81 inches of rain has been recorded in Hays this year–about one inch below average.