Proof is in the 'Peak Hour:' Water Ordinance Works, Rochester Hills Leaders Say

The in the city of Rochester Hills is working, city leaders recently learned. 

During a recent Rochester Hills City Council meeting, Mayor Bryan Barnett said the city's "peak hour" for water consumption is 4 a.m. That means residents are following the law: the city restricts outdoor watering by automated sprinkler systems to between midnight and 5 a.m.

That's important because the city purchases wholesale water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department; the DWSD bases the city's water rate on that peak hour demand, among other factors. The cost of water is less expensive between midnight and 5 a.m.

The rate is also based in part on the "peak day" for water consumption: the DWSD looks at the water usage in a 24-hour period during that peak day in the summer. 

According to Barnett, that peak day so far has been July 2, when the city used just under 19 million gallons of water. ("If you took a football field and filled it 50 feet high, that would be about 19 million gallons," Barnett said.)

To put that number further in perspective, 19 million gallons of water is about 380,000 baths (according to the U.S. Geological Survey a good-size bath holds 50 gallons, so a million gallons would be 20,000 baths).

More information on the ordinance can be found at www.rochesterhills.org. The city of Rochester does not have a watering ordinance.