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News

Round Rock enacts mandatory watering restrictions 

Published on June 29, 2022 under RRnews

Following a prolonged period of hot and dry conditions, the City of Round Rock has entered Stage 1 Mandatory Drought Restrictions that enforce a maximum of two outdoor watering days per week for its customers. 

City Manager Laurie Hadley declared Stage 1 Mandatory Drought Restrictions on Wednesday, June 29, from the City’s Drought Contingency Plan to conserve the 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,” Hadley said. “A little bit will go a long way in ensuring we are continuing to use the resources we have in a responsible manner.”  

The Brazos River Authority (BRA) issued a Stage 1 Drought Warning declaration for Lake Georgetown, Round Rock’s main water source, in March 2022. 

The City’s Drought Contingency Plan consists of three stages. Restrictions for Stage 1 make the City’s designated outdoor watering schedule mandatory for all Round Rock water customers. This includes residents living in Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) that are wholesale customers of the City of Round Rock. The schedule is based on the last digit of your address: 

If your address ends in…  Allowed Watering Days under Stage 1 Drought Restrictions 
4 or 8  Sunday and/or Thursday 
0 or 3  Monday and/or Thursday 
2, 6 or 7  Tuesday and/or Friday 
1, 5 or 9  Wednesday and/or Saturday 

Watering is allowed between midnight to noon or 7 p.m. to midnight only. 

Exceptions/other activities 

The following uses are exceptions to Stage 1 Drought Restrictions and may take place at any time: 

  • Irrigation by hand-held hoses or hand-held buckets 
  • Commercial carwashes 
  • Commercial plant nurseries 
  • Commercial power washing companies 
  • Athletic fields where field is in use (organized youth, amateur or professional sports) 
  • Necessary usage to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public (i.e. washing garbage trucks and vehicles used to transport food and perishables) 
  • Irrigation using other sources of water, such as groundwater, City’s reuse water, or rainwater 

The following activities are allowed only when done in compliance with the twice-per-week watering schedule above: 

  • Foundation watering 
  • Vehicle washing (commercial car washes are an exception and can be used at any time) 
  • Filling swimming pools 
  • Irrigation of new landscaping (however, installation of new landscaping should be delayed when possible) 
  • Operating ornamental fountains that recirculate water 

The following activities are prohibited during Stage 1 Drought Restrictions: 

  • Street washing 
  • Operating ornamental fountains that do not recirculate water 

How to update your irrigation system 

The following videos include step-by-step instructions showing how you can change your irrigation system to your designated watering days: 

About the City of Round Rock’s water sources 

The City’s main source of drinking water is surface water from Lake Georgetown, which is provided through the Brazos River Authority (BRA) and pumped from Lake Georgetown to the City’s water treatment plant. The BRA also supplements the water in Lake Georgetown via a 28-mile pipeline from Lake Stillhouse Hollow. Wells drilled into the Edwards Aquifer provide a smaller portion of the City’s water. An even smaller percentage, approximately 1.5-2 MGD, is supplied through the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA) from Lake Travis. On May 26, Round Rock City Council approved construction of the BCRUA Phase 2 Raw Water Delivery System Project, which is expected be completed in five years and will provide an additional 40.8 million gallons per day for Round Rock once completed. Additionally, the City has an expanding water reuse program. The City continues to seek to diversify and build its water sources for the future to maintain a high level of water security as the community continues to grow. 

The post Round Rock enacts mandatory watering restrictions  appeared first on City of Round Rock.

Source: City of Round Rock

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