Heath to initiate Stage 2 water conservation measures

(Heath) The Heath City Council will review mandatory Stage 2 Water Conservation measures during the Tuesday, Aug. 16 council meeting and is expected to initiate the requirements on Friday, Aug. 19.  Under Stage 2, the city will accelerate efforts to reduce water use in the community by five percent.

The implementation of Stage 2 comes at the request of the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) via the City of Rockwall, the city’s water supplier.  NTMWD initiated Stage 2 of the NTMWD Water Conservation and Drought Contingency and Water Emergency Response Plan as a result of the temporary loss of 22.5 percent of the Lake Texoma raw water supply due to invasive zebra mussels; the continued drought conditions with NTMWD’s Lake Chapman water supply capacity at 47 percent; and high water usage.

“Not only are we facing one of the driest summers in recent years, but with the zebra mussels cutting off our Texoma supply, the need for Stage 2 restrictions is immediate,” said Jim Parks, executive director of NTMWD.  “We’ve already exceeded last year’s peak, which was not reached until late August of 2010.”

City of Heath water customers will be required to take the following actions beginning Aug. 19 to help conserve the shrinking water supply: 

• Limit landscape watering with sprinklers or irrigation systems to no more than two days per week.
• Do not water landscape and lawns between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Do not plant new landscaping until the current drought has passed.
• Avoid all other activities that can waste water such as washing vehicles or using water hoses to clean driveways, patios and sidewalks.
• These restrictions will remain in effect until further notice or more stringent measures become necessary.

Since Lake Texoma represents almost a quarter of the North Texas raw water supply, NTMWD continues to work with all state and federal agencies involved to safely restore the Texoma water supply while minimizing the transfer of zebra mussels into Lake Lavon and the Trinity River Basin. 

Although zebra mussels are not harmful to humans and do not contaminate the water, they do attach to water facilities and pipes that pump water causing increased operating and maintenance costs.

More information and tips on water conservation and preventing the spread of zebra mussels can be found at ntmwd.com.

Story contributed by Kim Dobbs, assistant city manager of the City of Heath.

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  City of Heath, conservation, Heath, Stage 2, water