The city of Lampasas will move to Stage 4 Drought Response – Critical Water Shortage Conditions as of Tuesday.
In a workshop session prior to the regular council meeting on Monday, City Manager Finley deGraffenried updated council members on the aftermath of the July 25 Kempner Water Supply Corp. mainline break and current drought conditions.
“We’ve been meeting with Central Texas Water Supply Corp. and Kempner Water Supply Corp. every week,” the city manager said.
Following the mainline break that left many Lampasas County residents without water for over 24 hours, deGraffenried said city utility data shows “there’s been a lot of conservation going on.”
Unfortunately, public conservation efforts aren’t enough to mitigate the effects of ongoing drought.
“Based on current conditions, we feel we’re approved to go into Stage 4,” he said.
According to city officials, in Stage 4 Drought Response, all requirements of Stage 3 remain in effect with the exception of the following:
Irrigation of landscaped areas is limited to Thursdays for customers with a street address ending in an even number (0, 2, 4, 6 or 8), and Tuesdays for customers with a street address ending in an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7 or 9), irrigation of landscaped areas is further limited to between the hours of midnight and 8 a.m. on designated watering day, and by watering can or bucket; or hand watering by hose only.
Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle not occurring on the premises of a commercial car wash and commercial service stations and not in the immediate interest of public health, safety, and welfare is prohibited. Further, such vehicle washing at commercial car washes and commercial service stations shall occur only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 6:00 p.m. and 10 p.m.
The filling, refilling, or adding of water to swimming pools, wading pools, and Jacuzzi-type pools is prohibited. Operation of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a re-circulation system.
City officials urge citizens to keep in mind that the drought stage can change at any time, as the City continues to monitor reservoirs.
As of Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., Stillhouse Hollow Lake was at 605.23 feet. That level is 16.77 feet below the full pool level of 622.00 feet.
