Lake Brownwood reached the five (5) foot low level as of Friday, July 15, 2022. This triggers the first stage of Brown County Water Improvement District’s Drought Contingency Plan.
In this first stage, BCWID calls for Voluntary Water Restrictions.
John Allen, Water District Manager, shared the following information concerning Stage 1 Voluntary Water Restrictions.
Drought conditions are widespread across the state. BCWID is experiencing Mild drought conditions and encourages all citizens to help conserve our precious water resources.
Our water system is under Stage 1 water-use restrictions as of today, July 15, 2022. This means that water use is restricted in the following ways:
Voluntary Restrictions:
• Customers are encouraged to limit nonessential water use to prevent further restrictions.
• Customers are specifically encouraged to limit watering for landscape use, and to only water after 7 p.m. and before 10 a.m.
Outdoor Restrictions:
None at this time
Additional Restrictions
All controllable leaks must be repaired within a reasonable time.
For updates on water-use restrictions, visit BCWID.org.
General Water Conservation Tips
Customers are encouraged to reduce their water usage as much as possible. Try following a few of the following tips:
• About 50 percent of water used outdoors is wasted due to improper installation, maintenance, and use of watering systems. To make sure you get the most out of watering your lawn and garden, have your system inspected each year by a licensed irrigator to ensure proper operation.
• Install inexpensive faucet aerators to cut in half the amount of water used by each faucet.
• Check your faucets, and fix any leak you find. Faucet leaks can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water a year.
• Test your toilet for leaks; a leaking toilet can waste up to 73,000 gallons of water a year. To test, add a few drops of food coloring or a dye tablet to the water in the tank, but do not flush the toilet. Watch to see if the coloring appears in the bowl within a few minutes. If it does, the toilet has a silent leak that needs to be repaired.
• Look for water-efficient models when replacing plumbing fixtures or appliances. A water-efficient clothes washer uses 50 percent less water than a conventional model. Water-efficient plumbing fixtures can reduce water use by 25 to 60 percent.
Lake Brownwood Stage 1 Mild Drought
a. The District will advise customers early of factual conditions and update customers about worsening situations. The District may advise the news media and its customers of the drought or emergency conditions on a weekly basis.
b. The District will require its customers to initiate Stage 1 of their Drought Contingency Plans or to adhere to the conditions of this Plan, if they do not have their own. Customers may use their own Plans as long as they are at least as stringent as the District’s Plan.
c. The District will require customers to increase public education efforts.
d. The District will suggest its customers employ voluntary conservation measures.