City water supplies for DeKalb residents remained plentiful throughout the summer despite the drought because of large storage capacity geared toward accommodating NIU’s student population.

Gary Boden, DeKalb assistant city manager, said at an Aug. 5 press conference, “Our peak periods for water usage do not occur in the summer because about 30 percent to 40 percent of our population is not here.”

The city does not anticipate a problem in its water supplies once students return, he said.

“It’s (the city’s water system) a real asset to the community,” Boden said. “We store more water than typical. The decisions made by the DeKalb City Council a few years ago to go off-peak pumping save a lot in electrical bills.”