Sheppard opens pool under drought restrictions, trucks in water

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jelani Gibson
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Sheppard Air Force Base plans to open up its pools this year using non-city water sources in respect of drought restrictions in the surrounding city of Wichita Falls.

Wichita Falls has entered stage 5 drought conditions, which calls for even more stringent conservation measures as the city enters its fourth drought year and water reservoirs continue to decline.

While the base has no official mandate to follow city guidelines or drought restrictions, it does so in order to show solidarity, cooperation and environmental responsibility.

Water will be trucked in by Sheppard officials to replace water lost at the base pools due to evaporation. The pools have long been seen as an important morale-boosting activity for the base. Sheppard's pools have previously been using the more expensive option of recycling city water for the past two years, though restrictions on filling pools were not initiated in the city until stage 5 restrictions were declared.

In the 2009 fiscal year the base used nearly 600,000 units of water. By the 2013 fiscal year the base had successfully cut water usage to 380,000 units, exceeding the reduction target the city asked Sheppard to meet.
 
"It's important to have these strong relationships with the community," said Avery Borders, 82nd Force Support Squadron community services flight chief. "I think we provide a good resource and support system."

The pool itself is used for a variety of fitness activities and recreational events and is an important aspect of base life. Even in a time of austerity for the Air Force, said Borders, the pool is a good way to implement morale readiness across the base.
 
"It is true that we're dealing with a lot of fiscal constraints and shrinking resources... It's just one of those services that reach across a full-spectrum of an individual's quality of life," he said.

Sheppard is taking measures to balance morale readiness with the environmental issues that can affect both its employees and the community off-base.

"We have a vested interest to make sure we get through this together and work to have creative solutions," Borders said.
 
For more info on local drought restrictions visit http://www.wichitafallstx.gov/index.aspx?NID=1271