During a year punctuated by drought, Kalispell residents in 2015 used almost 1.5 billion gallons from the city water supply.

City Public Works Director Susie Turner said last year’s 1.49 billion gallons might be the highest ever.

“It’s probably safe to say that,” Turner said. “It was hot early and we didn’t have any moisture, especially in June, which is typically our rainiest month of the year.”

According to numbers released by the city last month, that 1.49 billion averages out to 71,000 gallons for each Kalispell resident.

Average Kalispell annual water use for the past eight years is 1.34 billion gallons a year.

Residents used more water in every single month of 2015 than the same month in 2014. The 2015 numbers are no surprise considering last summer included a 33-day rainless streak and the hottest June in history.

Turner said Kalispell’s growing population, most recently estimated at around 21,000, also could have played a role in the water-use increase.

Turner said 2007 also was a big year for city water use at 1.47 billion gallons.

“You can see the water demand follows population, too,” Turner said. “Every year as our community grows, we’re going to have a higher demand.”

Kalispell residents used 246 million gallons of water in July, the highest month in the sample size that dates back to 2008. August followed up with 239 million gallons water use. The averages for those months are 211 million and 214 million gallons, respectively.

“[Last year] was a huge demand on our system, higher than anything we’ve had since 2008,” Turner said.

The Public Works Department may begin looking for a new well site on the north side of Kalispell, Turner said. The estimated $626,000 cost of installing a new well was included in the 2015 budget, Turner said, and the project has been in mind at the department for a few years and may go into motion in 2017.

“That was always anticipated in our growth rate plan,” Turner said. “You could tell from last year that the demand was going up.”

Before deciding on a new well, Turner has to thoroughly pore through the city water system and define the best place to install the water source based on demand. Considering the amount of ongoing development in Kalispell’s northern corridor, that seems like the most logical option, she said.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.