Message from the City of Heath: Drought and Water Restrictions

HEATH, TX (July 30, 2022) Heath City staff will provide an in-depth report regarding the current Stage 3 Water Restrictions and why they are necessary at the August 9 City Council meeting. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and we will place this item at the top of the agenda. We encourage you to attend to gain the latest information, including the data behind the decisions being made regarding the water restrictions.

In the meantime, here is a synopsis of why the City of Heath is under Stage 3 Water Restrictions:

Our City is a customer of the City of Rockwall, which gets its water from the North Texas Water Municipal District. Our contract with the City of Rockwall allows our community to pump no more than 5.5 million gallons a day.

Before the Stage 3 Restrictions went into effect, our community was using as much as 7 million gallons of water per day, which far exceeded our limit and spurred the City of Rockwall to direct us to comply with the contract immediately.

Even with the restrictions in place, as of July 29, we are still exceeding our limit by .2 million gallons per day. For now, Rockwall is allowing us to cover the demand.

Adding to this strain is the fact that our combined maximum tank storage capacity within the City is 5 million gallons:

1.5 million gallons in an elevated storage tank
0.5 million gallons in an elevated storage tank
3 million gallons in a ground storage tank

This means that while we are pumping in water to meet the daily demand by the community, our storage tank levels are still steadily decreasing, instead of staying full.

With no end in sight to the current excessive temperatures and lack of rain, it is in the best interest of the City’s safety and quality of life to maintain Stage 3 restrictions until conditions improve.

We must ensure that our tanks maintain a healthy amount of water to supply our residents and businesses and to handle any emergency situations such as structural fires or wildfires.

Please know that we understand the hardship and inconvenience this means for your household, but our motivation is in the best interest and safety of all citizens that we serve. We will continue to monitor the data daily and thank you for your cooperation during this challenging time.