East Texas

By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

Drought-like conditions has spurred the city of Bullard to impose mandatory water conservation until further notice.

The stage 2 notice limits outside watering of lawns and gardens to three days a week in staggered succession. According to the notification, odd-numbered addresses are permitted to water outside on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, while even-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. No watering is allowed on Fridays.

“We are not out of water by any stretch of the imagination, but we are being cautious,” said City Manager Larry Morgan. “We aren’t cutting outside watering off altogether but we are implementing our conservation plan.”

Morgan said a “significant” increase in water usage drew the attention of city officials Tuesday morning and were alarming enough to begin restrictions. He said the storage pump ran all night to keep up with usage and maintain a respectable amount in reserve.

On Monday, the city of Whitehouse notified citizens of a similar conservation plan. City Manager Ronny Fite said the city saw alarming single-day usage over the past weekend that caused the restrictions. He said the city had been using between 800,000 and 900,000 gallons each day; but, over the past Saturday and Sunday almost 1.5 and 1.7 million gallons, respectively, were used. That puts the single-day usage close to the 1.8 million-gallon output current wells can supply. Fite said by staggering the water usage the city will be fine and that the water department has seen a significant change with just one day of restrictions.

“Irrigating yards is the big killer for us,” he said. “People see a little brown patch in their yard and they have to water their lawn.”

The problem and cause of Bullard’s water restriction is the same. Both Fite and Morgan said inside use has not been the problem, but that residents have put water supplies under strain to maintain their lawns in the summer heat.

Morgan and Fite have future solutions that would alleviate that strain. In Bullard, a 500,000-gallon storage tank has been constructed and is near completion and with well No. 6 expected to go on line within weeks, Morgan said the city should end its rationing then. Unless it rains sooner, he said.

Fite said Whitehouse has two wells due to go on line by September that will almost double daily water production. He said the additions will be ample for the city’s growth but that curtailing outdoor water use will help until those wells produce water or it rains.

Morgan and Fite said people are trying to preserve their lawns, but are often watering at the wrong time of day or over watering altogether.

Express Lawn and Sprinklers owner Randy Staples, who serves Whitehouse and surrounding towns, agrees with Morgan and Fite. Nevertheless, he said, the news of restrictions has caused an influx of calls to his office from panicked customers.

“People are getting nervous about the water restrictions,” he said. “They are afraid their lawns are going to burn up.”

Staples said people can capitalize on restrictions by checking their sprinkler systems. He said timing is everything when it comes to watering lawns.

The peak hours for watering are between 3 and 6 a.m. before the sun rises, causing evaporation. He said people should set sprinklers for those hours and that the typical yard should need 20-25 minutes this time of year. He said if current watering patterns caused the yard to become saturated and water runs out into the street the system should be adjusted.

He also said residents should also check for leaks. Typically, he said, sprinklers distribute 20-25 gallons per minute, but that faulty ones may use 40 gallons or more. He said yards usually only need one inch of water per week and that the best scenario would be to spread that amount over the rationed days.

Staples said this time of year is also the prime time for grub worms and chinch bugs to feast on healthy lawns and that treatment — not water — is the only fix for that situation.