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Drought Information
Drought Contingency Plan - Approved By City Council on April 22, 2019
2019 Water Conservation / Drought Contingency Plan (PDF)
Stage 1 - Notice
Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan is activated every April or May notifying all customers that the time of year for potential droughts is here. This year the notice was included in the Water Quality Report.
Stage 2 - Voluntary
In Stage 2 of the Drought Contingency Plan, we request that each resident voluntarily take certain conservation measures.
Stage 3 and 4 - Mandatory
In Stage 3 and Stage 4, which may follow as close as 3 days behind Stage 2 activation, there are mandatory measures, and repeat offenders may be fined up to $500 per incident per day.
Conservation Steps
In an effort to avoid activation of Stages 3 and 4, we are asking residents to conserve water and help us manage the water demand by following these easy steps.
The drought contingency message is Do Not Waste Water. Use what you need but do not allow water to be wasted. This will make the biggest difference and will help us to achieve our water conservation goals. Please take the time to verify that your irrigation water is not running down the street.
For more information on water conservation or the Drought Contingency Plan, contact Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Mark Wahlstrom at 713-662-5873 or via email.
Following these steps, all year will aid us in managing water demand and help you in conserving water.
- Water your lawn between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
- Check your irrigation system to verify that your water is going on the lawn and not on your sidewalks, driveways, streets or walls. You may need to adjust the spray angles on the sprinkler heads.
- Check your irrigation system through an entire cycle to verify that your water is staying on the lawn and soaking in, and not running down the street. You may need to water for a shorter time period and possibly more frequently allowing for the water to soak in and not run down the street.
- Check your irrigation system for leaks:
- Turn on each area and walk through the area served to verify no water is running out of the ground, or shooting straight up into the air. You may have a broken pipe or a damaged sprinkler head.
- With the irrigation system off for at least 30 minutes, check each sprinkler head and verify that no water is coming out of the sprinkler head, if the water is coming out of the sprinkler head this indicates that one of the valves is not closing completely.
- Shortly after the irrigation system turns off walk through the yard looking for sand or dirt washed up by the sprinkler system this will indicate a leak in an underground pipe.
- Reduce the level of water being used in bathtubs by one or two inches if a shower is not available.
- Check toilets for leaks.
- Turn off water when brushing your teeth until time to rinse.
- Never run the dishwasher without a full load.
- Place a stopper in the sink for rinsing pots, pans, and cooking utensils rather than turning on the faucet each time.
- Clean vegetables in a pan of water rather than turning on the faucet each time.
- Wash only a full load when using a washing machine.
- Use the lowest water level setting on the washing machine for lighter loads.
- Use cold water as often as possible to save energy and to conserve hot water for uses that cold water cannot serve.
- Check all water connections and faucets for leaks.
- Check for water leaks that you may be unaware of, such as a leak between the water meter and the house.
Drought Capacity
The following is the table used when determining the stages of drought in the area.
- MGD stands for Millions of Gallons per Day
- Safe Capacity is equivalent to 75% of the total production capacity. The safe capacity allows for the largest pump or well to be out of service and the system to maintain enough reserves to provide adequate fire protection.
- The 3-day average may be above a drought stage activation level and the stage not be activated as the plan calls for 3 consecutive days above the activation level and not a 3-day average. This helps prevent erroneous activation in the case that there is an event, such as a water leak, which causes a high single day peak.
| Safe Capacity | MGD | Maximum Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Safe Capacity | 6.480 MGD | 75% of Maximum Capacity |
| 80% Safe Capacity | 5.184 MGD | 3 Days - Initiate Stage 4 |
| 70% Safe Capacity | 4.536 MGD | 3 Days - Initiate Stage 3 |
| 60% Safe Capacity | 4.212 MGD | 3 Days - Initiate Stage 2 |
| Current Demand | 3.534 MGD | Last 3 Days Average |
| Current % of Safe Capacity | 54.5% | Every April - Initiate Stage 1 |