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The city of Trinidad is asking residents to curtail water usage amid drought conditions, as Luffenholtz Creek — the city's sole water source — has seen flows decrease steadily since June.

"This year's drought is steadily approaching the peak severity of the last one," said Richard Clompus, who serves on the Trinidad City Council and its water committee. "And, unfortunately, we don't have another water source for the city at this time."

According to a press release, the city pulls about 2 millions gallons of surface water monthly from the creek and processes it for roughly 320 customers. With the creek running low, the city is asking customers to institute voluntary reductions but if flows decrease further, mandatory restrictions would be imposed, the city warns.

"We've always lived within our means when it comes to water in the greater Trinidad area," Mayor Steve Ladwig said in a press release. "But as the conditions change, so must we change our behavior and attitude towards water."

Water use became a lightning rod topic in the small seaside city in 2019, when the city declined to service a new 100-room hotel proposed by the Trinidad Rancheria at Cher-Ae Heights Casino with municipal water, threatening the project. The project ultimately moved forward without the city's water, with the Rancheria saying it had found a well onsite that could provide most of the water needed and it would truck in additional water, if needed.

See the city's full press release copied below: