Dry conditions have prompted a number of Minnesota cities to enact water restrictions. Public Works Supervisor Doug Hartman. In Prior Lake, officials have issued an emergency ban on all outdoor watering. Hartman says new water emergency means Prior Lake's 15,000 residents face steeper fines for violations.

Previously the city had restricted water use during the hottest part of the day and it set up watering schedules for homeowners depending on whether their address ended in an odd or even number. Despite the restrictions, the city's two water towers are empty and its three wells can't keep up with demand that has jumped to 4-and-a-half million gallons a day, compared to a million gallons in the winter.