AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) unanimously voted to adopt a resolution that would restrict customers to outdoor watering only once per week as long as water storage in both Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan remains at less than 1.1 million acre-feet of water in both lakes.
The new rule will go into effect on May 1.
The new rule comes as a response to worsening drought conditions, higher water usage due to the growing population in the Hill Country and the resulting low lake levels.
The KVUE Defenders first reported on the proposal in February as they continue to track water supply issues in Central Texas.
The combined water storage level for Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan was at 842,342 acre-feet as of Feb. 1. Just one year ago, the combined water storage for both lakes was at 1,040,937 acre-feet.
One acre-foot is enough water to cover an entire acre of land, or about the size of a football field, one foot deep.
If customers do not abide by the new restrictions, they could be fined. First-time violators won't receive a fine, just a written warning, but second-time violators will receive a $2,000 fine and each violation after will come with a $10,000 fine.
Staffers also proposed lowering the threshold of when each stage in the utility's drought contingency plan is triggered.
The proposed changes include triggering Stage 1 when the combined storage level of Lakes Travis and Buchanan hit 1.1 million acre-feet. Right now, Stage 1 is triggered at 900,000 acre-feet. Stage 2 would take effect when the combined storage level hits 900,000 acre-feet. Stage 3 is new and would go into effect when the combined storage level hits 750,000 acre-feet. Stage 4 comes when the combined storage level hits 600,000 acre-feet. Stage 4 also comes with a board declaration of a drought worse than the drought of record.
A draft of the proposed changes is expected to be made public on Feb. 23. The board is expected to vote on this item at its next meeting in March.
For several golf courses, the new once-a-week watering restriction applies to ornamental landscaped areas but not the playing areas of the golf courses. Like all firm (mainly municipalities) customers, golf courses have a goal of reducing their water use by 10% to 20%.
The courses are:
- Austin County Club
- Austin Golf Club Inc.
- Blue Lake Golf Club, Inc.
- Boot Ranch Holdings
- CF River Place Arcis LLC
- CF Twin Creeks Arcis LLC
- City of Austin d/b/a Grey Rock Golf Club
- ClubCorp Golf of Texas
- Giacomo Properties DBA Legends on LBJ
- Great Hills Golf Club of Austin
- Horseshoe Bay Resort, Ltd.
- Omni – Barton Creek Resort & Clubs, Inc.
- Pedernales Golf Club
The slide show presented by LCRA staffers during Wednesday's meeting can be seen below.