New Water Restrictions
7/5/2024
As of 7/4/24 Walnut Creek SUD moved into stage 3 of the drought contingency plan. I know many wonder why . Simply put the water was being used faster during watering periods than it could be resupplied into the system. The water plant and pump stations have been running around the clock to keep up but mechanically that is not sustainable and a pump station broke down yesterday morning 7/4/24. At that point the decision had to be made to go to stage 3, stop outside watering and let the system recover. The water usage in the system went up by 75% last month and has been steadily climbing ever since. That is not a sustainable rate and around 65% of that75% is tied directly to irrigation use,irrigation systems that only about one third of our customers have. There have been many questions to the effect of" What happened to the bond money paying for upgrades to stop this from happening?" That is exactly what the bond money is being used for. Bids have been taken and work has begun for: a large line upgrade installation, 2 new high capacity pump stations, 2 new ground storage tanks and a 4 million gallon per day addition to the water plant . Within the next couple of months bids will be taken for 2 other large line upgrade projects and 2 elevated storage tanks. All of these projects are bond projects. All designed to get more water to the customer. However construction takes time; miles of line,tanks and pump stations are not just plug and play. So right now the District is still running with the same pumps, lines and storage as we were last year. With the exception of a large line upgrade down Newsom Mound Rd and raising the elevated tank on Newsome Mound Rd by 58 feet both of which were completed last year. Our water plant is more than capable of making enough water however our pump stations and lines are not capable of delivering that much water. So effectivly the irrigation rate was crippling the system. Irrigation in Texas is not considered an essential use of water. The District at this time has to make sure essential uses( drinking,bathing, laundry,watering of livestock,fire protection etc) are covered. Outdoor watering and irrigation will be revisited next week when the system has had time to recover. Keep in mind that it will probably be a more strict schedule than before as it has already been proven that the system cannot keep up with irrigation at the rate it was being allowed. Many also ask why we continue to allow houses to be added to the water system. The simple answer is it is illegal for the District not to supply them water as long as we have an ample essential water supply. Over 5000 houses could be added to the system using essential water every month and still not use as much water as is being put onto the ground through irrigation. Walnut Creek SUD Board members and Myself did not come to the desicion of going to stage 3 easily nor was it something that we wanted to do; it was simply what was best for keeping essential water to customers and keeping the system running efficiently at this time. Thank You, James Blackwood, General Manager Walnut Creek SUD