St. John passes water ordinance

The Town of St. John recently passed an emergency water ordinance for the purpose of completing its water system plan for the Department of Ecology.

The town was required to pass the ordinance for the plan and needed to outline penalties for violation of water use restrictions. The ordinance stipulates that the town council can declare a water emergency in the event of severe drought, extended pipeline or equipment malfunction or in any other condition that significantly reduces the town’s ability to supply water.

The purposes of declaring a water emergency would be to protect public health, s...