The City of Cleburne has entered Mild Draught Conditions and community members need to begin practicing Stage 1 Water Restrictions.
Mild Draught Conditions went into effect when the city’s main water source Lake Pat Cleburne reached 75% of its conservation storage capacity, as outlined in the city’s Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan. In order to help combat further reductions, the community will need to follow Stage 1 Water Restrictions until conditions improve.
Stage 1 Water Restrictions introduce a mandatory weekly watering schedule. Non-residential sites can water on Tuesdays and Fridays, residential addresses ending in even numbers can water on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and residential addresses ending in odd numbers can water on Thursdays and Sundays. Unattended watering or irrigation is prohibited between 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Exceptions to the restrictions include:
- Watering of gardens used for growing food crops
- Irrigation of new landscape is allowed at any time of day on any day for the initial 30 days provided that the irrigation is limited to the minimum amount necessary for establishment.
- Watering in of chemicals, including insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides is allowed anytime within 24 hours of application.
- Irrigation systems may be operated anytime for maintenance and repair purposes, not to exceed 20 minutes per hour per zone.
- Irrigation using a hand-held hose equipped with a spray nozzle that can be adjusted so water flows only as needed is allowed anytime.
- The use of water from a reclaimed water system is allowed anytime. A reclaimed water system includes systems in which the primary source is reclaimed water, which may or may not be supplemented from another source during peak demand periods.
Water users are also encouraged to reduce frequent swimming pool draining and refilling.
Water restrictions focus on irrigation because of its demand. The bulk of our public water supply is residential water use and landscape irrigation can account for more than half of total residential use. The data shows two-day watering schedules can reduce overall water consumption by up to 33%.
If water levels do not improve the city may enter more severe Stage II Water Restrictions and beyond. The city will lift water restrictions when conditions improve.
Those violating water restrictions can be subject to penalties up to $500. Community members can report violations by calling 817-556-8819.
For more details and the latest updates regarding Cleburne drought information visit the Drought Information Center on Cleburne.net.