HELENA — With a possibility of record hot temperatures coming to Helena for the start of June, city leaders are asking residents to be “good stewards” of water.

The city posted on Facebook with recommendations for people watering lawns or plants.

Leea Anderson, Helena’s environmental regulation pretreatment manager, says the city’s water system is supplying 3 to 4 million gallons on a typical day in the winter. During the irrigation season, that can rise to 12 million gallons – or even 16 million gallons – a day.

“That level of change, or that level of use, is tough on the water system – it is,” Anderson said. “When we have to supply that much demand, it makes it so we have to run both of our water treatment plants at full tilt – almost 100% maxed out the whole time.”

(Watch the video for more on what Helena leaders are asking residents to do.)

Anderson is recommending that people not water in the afternoon, when the temperatures are highest and water may evaporate before plants can absorb it – but also that they avoid watering between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. That’s because the Missouri River Water Treatment Plant on Helena’s east side isn’t running at those times; without upgrades, the systems there can’t be automated and require someone actively working to manage them.

Anderson said watering when only the western Tenmile Water Treatment Plant is operating puts additional pressure on the system.

“The greater the water use and the higher that we have to run our plants, the more stuff is going to break,” she said. “When you run things at a high RPM for a long period of time, it puts a lot of strain on the plants.”

Anderson also recommends using the “Step Test” so you don’t overwater your lawn. If you step on the lawn and the grass quickly springs back up, it’s probably not time to water again yet.

“Overwatering your lawn actually makes your lawn’s roots grow really shallow,” she said. “If you water shorter, if you have greater duration in between when you're watering, it actually makes your lawn’s roots go down further, which makes them be able to utilize water in a deeper zone – and it also reduces the amount of fertilizer you have to put on it.”

You can find more information on Helena’s water system and water conservation tips on the city’s website.