ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Round Rock announced Wednesday the city entered Stage 1 mandatory drought restrictions, which limits customers to two outdoor watering days each week. On Wednesday, City Manager Laurie Hadley said the measure is designed to help conserve the city’s available water supply.
“Due to the lack of forecasted rain, we are taking action now to prevent the possibility of entering further drought restrictions down the road,” she said in the release. “A little bit will go a long way in ensuring we are continuing to use the resources we have in a responsible manner.”
This follows an earlier Stage 1 drought warning declaration issued by the Brazos River Authority for Lake Georgetown in March. Lake Georgetown is Round Rock’s main water source.
Round Rock oversees a three-stage drought contingency plan. Stage 1 restrictions mandates a specific outdoor watering schedule for all Round Rock water customers.
The mandatory schedule includes residents living in municipal utility districts (MUDs) that are also wholesale customers of the city. The outdoor watering schedule, based on the last digit of an address, is as follows:
- Address ends in 4 or 8: Sunday and/or Thursday
- 0 or 3: Monday and/or Thursday
- 2, 6 or 7: Tuesday and/or Friday
- 1, 5 and 9: Wednesday and/or Saturday
Watering is only permitted between midnight to noon, or 7 p.m. and midnight.
Exceptions to the Stage 1 drought restrictions include:
- Irrigation by hand-held hoses and hand-held buckets
- Commercial carwashes
- Commercial plant nurseries
- Commercial power washing companies
- Athletic fields where the field is in use (organized youth, amateur or professional sports)
- Necessary use to protect public health, safety and welfare (such as washing garbage trucks and vehicles used to transport food and perishables)
- Irrigation using other sources of water, such as groundwater, the city’s reuse water or rainwater
These activities are permitted if done in accordance with the city’s twice-per-week limit:
- Foundation watering
- Vehicle washing (commercial car washes aren’t included in this limit and can be used any time)
- Filling swimming pools
- Irrigation of new landscaping (excluding new landscaping installation, which should be delayed when possible)
- Operating ornamental fountains that recirculate water
Under Stage 1 drought restrictions, both street washing and operating ornamental fountains that don’t recirculate water are prohibited.
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