FRONT ROYAL, Va. (AP) — Front Royal residents are being asked to voluntarily conserve water because of a drop in the Shenandoah River’s flow rate.

Front Royal gets its drinking water from the river’s south fork.

A public notice issued Monday says the south fork’s 14-day rolling average stream flow rate has dropped below 400 cubic feet per second, or about 260 gallons a day.

Water treatment plant superintendent Mike Kisner tells The Northern Virginia Daily (http://bit.ly/1po1XjX ) that the flow rate dropped to a level that requires voluntary water conservation measures. He attributes the decline to a lack of rain.

Voluntary conservation measures include limiting washing vehicles to the same hours and only once a week, and shortening shower or bath time.

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Information from: Northern Virginia Daily.

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