It’s the final week of Building Safety Month, and what better way to end this celebration than to talk about water safety!

Water Safety is one of four core themes to be highlighted by the International Code Council.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of June 2019, 785 million people lack even essential drinking-water services, with 144 million people dependent on surface water.

The City of Southlake receives all its water from Fort Worth. Fort Worth obtains its water from surface water sources such as Lake Worth, Eagle Mountain Lake, Lake Bridgeport, Richland Chambers Reservoir, Cedar Creek Reservoir, and the Clear Fort Trinity River (from Lake Benbrook). Each year, Southlake and Fort Worth actively maintain and protect these water sources, but there are small things that every household can do to help.

Standard ways to help protect our water sources are ensuring that hazardous waste is disposed of correctly and that only degradable items are flushed into the sewer system. For example, the oil will cool and solidify in the sewer pipes when cooking grease is disposed of down a drain instead of thrown away. When this happens, you can have sewer back up into the property, causing significant damage to sewer pipes. When sewer pipes are damaged, they pose a high risk to our clean water sources. If you suspect you might have a sewer backup, you can call Southlake Public Works at 817-748-8082 for assistance.

When it comes to maintaining our water sources, conservation is vital. Simple things such as turning off a faucet when brushing your teeth or only watering grass and plants during the specified times and days can help conserve water. If you have questions on when you should water, you can view Southlake’s Watering Schedule. Southlake has many tips on how your household can conserve water. For example, the ‘Eye On Water’ system will allow you to view and track your daily water usage. If you have any questions about Water Conservation or the ‘Eye On Water’ program, you can contact the Water Utilities Department at 817-748-8051.

To learn more about Building Safety Month, please visit International Code Council’s website. For more information about Southlake’s best practices for building safety, visit our website or give us a call at (817) 748-8621.