Woodcreek residents received a letter from Aqua Texas last week informing them to adopt Stage 4 conservation methods.
“Since August 2022, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District has been in a declared drought based on District Rule 13 & 15. Due to persistent conditions, your area has a 7% chance of drought ending in the next 6 months, as there is still a rainfall deficit of 23 inches,” the letter stated.
“In addition to our primary goal of conservation, Aqua must also comply with the current regulatory requirements by continuing the implementation of measures outlined within our state-approved Drought Contingency Plan.”
The notice informed residents that they must adhere to mandatory STAGE 4 conservation measures. Since September 2023, Woodcreek residents were prohibited from all outdoor water use and with the new requirements, indoor use is limited to using 8,500 gallons per month.
The letter included ways to adapt to the new limitations. It advised residents to visit their Aqua e-Portal to view their consumption with the Advance Metering Infrastructure tool which tracks water use down to the hour.
Homeowners were advised to opt into additional notifications via the e-Portal to catch leaks and over consumption, warning that non-compliance with the conservation requirements would result in a flow restrictor on their service line.
Other tips from the letter advised shortening long shower times. “The average shower head,” it said, “has a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute, meaning a 10-minute shower uses up to 25 gallons of water. Decreasing shower times to 7 minutes over the month could save up to 225 gallons and it requested that residents switch to Water Sense shower heads.
Aqua Texas will continue to monitor conditions and updates from HTGCD regarding the drought status, and will notify homeowners if conservation requirements change. For specific questions and for more water smart suggestions a separate email, AquaTXConservation@ aquaamer-See ica.com, was provided.
