Since declaring a water emergency and ordering residents not to water their lawns, the city of Fairhope has not issued any fines.

But Mayor Sherry Sullivan said that code enforcement officers have faced harassment, intimidation and pushback from some residents.

“We literally had people challenging our code enforcement on the street. They’re like, ‘make me,’” the mayor told the city council Monday night. “That’s how they’re talking to our boys.”

Yet the mayor also signaled that the emergency declaration is working — and the city council is keeping it in place for now.

[Read more: 10 questions about Fairhope’s water emergency: Mayor blames irrigation, not growth]

Since the city declared the emergency, water usage has decreased by 10.3%, according to the mayor. She said water usage reached 8.7 million gallons of the system’s 9 million gallon capacity last week, but yesterday’s usage was down to 7.8 million.

In response to criticism that the city moved too quickly into Phase 3 of its water conservation ordinance, Jay Robinson, the city council president, said that both the council and mayor regularly monitor water usage numbers, and that “it wasn’t done without a thought.”

“But it’s something that we’ve never had to do before,” Robinson said. “And it’s hopefully something that we never have to do again.”

The council on Monday night voted unanimously to pass an amended version of the water conservation ordinance. The updated ordinance goes into effect on Aug. 23.

Updates for Phase 3 of the new ordinance include:

• The threshold for entering Phase 3 decreased to 95% water usage. Originally, it required 100% capacity to be reached.
• Water usage thresholds need to be met for 7 out of 10 days — instead of 7 consecutive days — to enter or exit a phase
• Utility customers can no longer wash private vehicles during the duration of the emergency order.
• Those who have recently planted new landscaping now have an exemption to the no-irrigation rule for 30 days after planting.
• Violations have now been defined, and violators of the ordinance do not need to appear in court. The first offense is a warning, the second is a $300 fine and each subsequent offense is a $500 fine.

[Read more: Fairhope declares water emergency, residents face $500 fines for watering lawns]

Many of the changes are in response to community criticism and suggestions, members of the council said. Council member Jack Burrell noted that the water conservation ordinance was first introduced in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We knew at that time it wouldn’t be perfect, but we knew we needed something in place,” Burrell said. “We’re going to hopefully make it a little bit better tonight. It probably won’t be perfect, and it’s certainly not going to make everybody happy.”

The mayor’s office has been receiving many calls with questions, concerns and complaints each day, Sullivan said, and some citizens have started conflict with city employees. She noted that her grass and Azalea bushes at home are dying and asked residents to remember “we all live in Fairhope.”

In one instance, she said, someone even “chased” a city truck transporting water at 4 a.m. after it pulled water from a well at Quail Creek, a municipal golf course.

“They’re chasing the water truck, harassing our driver, wanting to know where he’s getting his water,” she said. “It’s ridiculous what we’re having to deal with, and all we’re doing is asking people not to irrigate their lawns.”

Council member Corey Martin urged his colleagues and residents to remember that the city’s water supply is necessary for health care and drinking water, but watering lawns is not an essential use.

“I think we’re talking about a first-world problem right here,” Martin said “Because we could go into a third-world problem if we continue to be vain about putting our drinking water on the ground.”

Fairhope resident Joe Rytlewski was the only member of the public to speak about the water emergency at Monday’s meeting. He said that he and his neighbors have felt confused about the ordinance and why it was suddenly put in place.

“I think people can deal with it if they understand what’s really happening,” Rytlewski said. “I really don’t know where the new well’s at, what its capacities are or what the expectation is.”

In her report to the council, Sullivan emphasized that the city’s rapid growth is not the only factor to blame for high water usage. Instead, she focused on unprecedented heat and lack of rainfall striking the Gulf Coast this summer.

[Read more: Fast-growing Fairhope invests millions to keep up with water demand]

“We are definitely not seeing the rainfall that we need to see,” Sullivan said.

Fairhope’s average rainfall in July is 9 inches and August is 7 inches, she said, but this year, July’s rainfall was just 4.9 inches, and August has had half an inch so far.