Ohio city declares water emergency, residents could face legal trouble for non-essential water use

HILLSBORO — An Ohio city has issued a water emergency making it “unlawful” for residents to use water for certain purposes.

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The City of Hillsboro issued a Phase II Water Emergency on Sept. 10.

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Residents are prohibited from using city water for the following purposes:

• Watering lawns, flowers, trees, shrubs, or gardens
• Washing parking lots, driveways, or sidewalks
• Cleaning motor vehicles, unless done at a high-pressure pay car wash facility
• Filling swimming pools or fountains
• Any other non-essential water use

A resident caught using water for these purposes could face a minor misdemeanor, according to the city.

The city of Bellbrook is also asking people to conserve water. They have their own water system.

News Center 7 reached out about other areas and their water supply. We reported during News Center 7 at 5:00 Dayton uses the Miami Valley Buried Aquifer.

They have two sprawling well-fields that draw water from that deep aquifer. The system, which supplies water for the city, and for Montgomery County’s water system too, pumps about 65 million gallons of water a day.

“We’re not in a place where we’re considering doing any form of restrictions,” Kinney said.

Dayton has the ability with its well-field to comfortably pump up to 160 million gallons a day, so for now, they are in great shape but communities that use surface water supplies could increasingly be looking at restrictive measures if we do not get measurable rain soon.

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