BLANCO, Texas — The City of Blanco is under Stage 5 water conditions as it deals with issues with its water supply system from Canyon Lake.
Residents were previously under Stage 6 restrictions and asked to stop all unnecessary water usage, including all outdoor usage except for giving drinking water to livestock. All industrial usage had been stopped.
On Monday afternoon, the City moved to Stage 5, with water consumption limited to indoor use only. Residential, commercial, wholesale and industrial customers are asked not to engage in landscape irrigation until further notice. Bulk water haulers are prohibited from pulling water from hydrants until further notice.
In an update on Friday, Mayor Mike Arnold said the company that delivers its water supply, Texas Water Company, had been struggling to meet demand for the area. On Friday, a small pipe break in its system caused the delivery of water to the City of Blanco to stop altogether.
Without water, Arnold said the city’s holding tank supply began to rapidly decline. In preparation for the worst-case scenario, officials brought in several pallets of bottled water and installed a potable water holding tank. They also lined up a tanker for non-potable water for those who need to feed livestock.
At one point, the city only had around 24 hours of water left.
By Saturday morning, Arnold said the city’s tanks were full and flow was coming in from its supplier. Water levels “held steady” through the weekend, but as of Monday morning, the City remained at Stage 6 as it worked with industrial users to gradually come back online.
“Folks, this drought has hit everyone hard. The river and lake levels are very low. Our recent rains barely made an impact. While it is a hardship, please stop ALL outdoor water use. We are all in this together, and if we do this, we should be able to make it through this temporary situation without having to resort to more drastic measures,” the City of Blanco said on Monday evening.