CORALVILLE (KWWL) -
The Iowa City and Coralville area has been hit especially hard by the drought.
The area has received around 6.5 inches less rainfall this year than the average.It's dry all around us and it has people hoping for some relief soon.
Gwen Sheeley has lived in Coralville for more than 40 years, she says this is one of the driest stretches she's ever experienced.
"It's probably one of the worst," Sheeley said.
Sheeley put in new sod in her front yard earlier this summer and has seen her utility bill since shoot up trying to keep up with the extreme weather.
"It went up $20 but it was an investment for the sod, so we had to keep that going," Sheeley said.
The city of Coralville has seen its residents increase their water usage in the month of June by 33 percent.
"With the outlook for continued hot weather, it looks like it could continue and it does cause wear and tear on our equipment," said Ellen Habel the Assistant City Administrator in Coralville.
The city is asking residents to voluntarily help with the problem by limiting the amount of water used, especially on lawns.
"If you do need to water, water early in the day so you're not getting that evaporation that you would get at noon," Habel said.
The city of Coralville has seen as much as a 10 percent reduction in water use since it asked its residents to conserve last week. With no signs of the dry weather letting up any time soon the city will hope to get that continued compliance from the community.
The city of Coralville will be even better equipped to handle dry conditions next summer, two new wells are expected to be online by then.
