Customers of Milford Water Company will be told to restrict their outdoor watering for a second spring and summer, preventing people from using irrigation systems during peak hours.

The so-called Stage 2 water ban requires customers to limit outside watering to alternate days, and off-peak hours, to prevent evaporation. The water use is restricted to before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Customers are encouraged to use hand-held hoses or watering cans, said David Condrey, the general manager of the Milford Water Company.

The utility company adopted the Stage 2 restrictions last summer.

Condrey said keeping the conservation measures in place should prevent the need to take more restrictive steps. (In a full-blown drought, or Stage 4, all outdoor watering would be banned.)

"That's my goal," he said.

Notices are being sent to customers with their bills, he said. People who have private wells for irrigation are not subject to the restrictions.