Southlake Enters Stage 1 Water Restrictions

Monday morning (7/30/2012), the City of Southlake entered Stage 1 watering restrictions. Under the City’s ordinance, residents and businesses are restricted to twice a week watering.  The watering restriction breaks down as follows:

• Wednesday & Saturday
  Residential Addresses ending in even numbers (0, 2, 4, 6, or eight)
• Thursday & Sunday
  Residential Addresses ending in odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, or 9)
• Tuesday & Friday
  Non-residential addresses including businesses, HOAs, parks, medians, etc.
• Monday
  No lawn or landscape watering

“Enforcement of Stage 1 watering restrictions begins immediately,” said Bob Price, Director of Public Works.  “The heat combined with high consumption has placed the City’s water tanks in a constant “refilling” mode.  We need users to observe twice a week watering restrictions so that the system can replenish.”

The levels in the tanks are important for fighting fires.   A large fire can consume between 500 to 2000 gallons of water per minute.  If the elevated storage tank levels fall below 18-foot in all three tanks, the ability to fight a fire within the City limits is compromised.

Enforcement efforts will be focused on protecting the City’s water system as well as the lives and property of Southlake’s residents and businesses.  As a reminder, violators will receive two warnings before a citation is issued.  Citations can carry fines of up to $2000 dollars.

In the past several years, the City has made several important investments into the City’s water system.  A 20-inch line located along SH 114 was recently put into service.  The 30-inch TW King line is currently under construction and is scheduled to be finished in 2013.

“Although these new water lines will certainly help with water distribution, City users still need to decrease water consumption,” said Price.  “The best way to start is to adjust your irrigation controller to twice a week watering.  The City has links to many irrigation control manuals on its website to help people make changes.”

The City tracks water consumption on a daily basis.  As the chart shows below, high temperatures, combined with little to no rain fall has put a strain on the City’s system.

“Bottom line, we really need rain, lower temperatures, and twice a week landscape watering compliance, said Price.  “The action we have control over is landscape watering, which is why the City has a strong commitment to enforcing the ordinance.”

For more information about the City’s water conservation ordinance, and emergency water management plan please visit www.CityofSouthlake.com/WaterConservation.   If you see a violation, please report it here.