The city of Ames has seen record-high water usage this year, and officials project that, by 2012, the existing water plant won’t be able to produce enough clean water to meet the city’s needs.

To battle the increasing demand for water, the Water and Pollution Control Department has started its Smart Water Campaign to help customers conserve water, ensuring their water bills stay low.

“It’s a joint effort,” said Susan Gwiasda, Ames public relations officer.

“We’re working in tandem with the Water Department to get this campaign off the ground.”

“A newsletter is going out this March to all residents of Ames,” Gwiasda said. “The front-page article is all about EcoSmart Programming and what people can do to help reduce energy consumption.”

The city of Ames has been promoting conservation and has found simple ways to conserve water, both indoors and outdoors.

“I’ve never even thought about saving water in the dorms,” said Missy Shaw, freshman in psychology.

“I’m sure a lot of water could be saved with everyone’s help.”

Christina Murphy, assistant director of water and pollution control, has several ways to help reduce water usage.

“Students can help save water by taking shorter showers, fixing and reporting leaky faucets, toilets and fixtures – leaks account for 14 percent of water usage indoors – and by not throwing trash in the toilets,” Murphy said.

The existing water plant infrastructure that dates back to 1891.

“It’s fairly old for a water plant, and some of the reasons for the water plant expansion are not just for peak demands, but for structural problems. Right now, our timeline looks at about five years, but if we can encourage conservation, we can delay the expansion to about ten years for structural problems, which will keep rates down,” Murphy said.

“We haven’t had a rate increase since 2001.”

The city plans to continue to push for water conservation in the next five years to keep water affordable and accessible.

“We did win the best tasting water in the state this summer,” Murphy said.

“We want to continue to be able to serve that to our customers.”