On April 15, 2014 the Southlake City Council voted to approve the 2014 Water Conservation Plan, which makes twice per week landscape watering permanent in Southlake.

State law requires that cities larger than 3,300 adopt a Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan and submit them to the Texas Water Development Board every five years. At the request of the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), the City of Fort Worth has added a maximum of twice per week landscape watering to their water conservation plan and requires wholesale customer cities, including Southlake, to adopt the same measures.

Public Works Director Bob Price notes, “Chapter 288 of the Texas Administrative Code requires that as a wholesale water customer of the City of Fort Worth we share the conservation measures imposed by their plan and that our plan meets or exceeds the measures of their plan.”

Under the 2014 Water Conservation Plan, residential addresses ending in an even number (0, 2, 4, 6, or 8) can water on Wednesdays and Saturdays, residential addresses ending in an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7, or 9) can water on Thursdays and Sundays. Non-residential locations such as apartment complexes, businesses and parks may water on Tuesdays and Fridays. No watering is permitted on Mondays.

Other measures under the 2014 Water Conservation Plan prohibit the following:

• Allowing substantial amounts of water to fall on impervious areas instead of landscape. For example, a constant stream of water overflows from the lawn or landscape onto a street or other drainage area.
• Operating an irrigation system or watering device during any form of precipitation.

Measures from the 2009 Water Conservation Plan require new irrigation systems have rain and freeze sensors, that they not be operated with broken heads allowing waste, and that they not be operated between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. remain in effect in the 2014 Plan.

Watering by hand-held hose, drip irrigation, tree bubbler, or soaker hose is allowed at any time although residents are encouraged to limit such watering to a maximum of two hours per day.

“Currently, the City remains under Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan, which sets several guidelines for water use when levels fall below a specified threshold,” Price says. “However under the 2014 Water Conservation Plan, even if the lake levels rise from their current level of roughly 70% to full capacity, the twice per week watering will remain in effect.”

The City of Southlake has been under Stage 1 Drought Contingency since June of 2013 and remains under Stage 1 due to continuing drought conditions (see map below).

Measures under Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan include the following:

• Vehicle washing is limited to the use of hand-held buckets and a hose with a positive shutoff valve. Vehicles may be washed at any time at a carwash.
• Encouraging no hosing of buildings, windows, or other structures for any purpose other than fire protection.
• Encouraging no hosing of paved areas, such as sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, etc.
• Encouraging hotels, restaurants and bars to serve water only upon request.
• Establishing new turf is discouraged, and a variance is required to do so.

For more details about Southlake’s 2014 Water Conservation Plan, Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan and water restrictions, please visit CityofSouthlake.com/WaterConservation.

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