The city secretary or the designated representative shall have
the authority to institute and terminate the excess water use charge
pursuant to the terms and conditions in the plan.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
sec. 2)
The city secretary or the designated representative is the designated
official for implementation of drought restrictions when the trigger
conditions as delineated in the plan are reached.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
sec. 3)
Users of city water that do not comply with the plan shall be subject to a penalty and fine in accordance with section
1.01.009 of this code for each day of noncompliance, to be established by the city secretary or the designated representative, and/or disconnection or discontinuance of water services to such users by the city.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
sec. 4; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) The water distribution system and wastewater collection system in
the city are owned and operated by the city. Raw water is obtained
from the Trinity Aquifer groundwater system through wells. No treatment
of the water supplies is required prior to distribution, other than
chlorination. The wastewater treatment facility is located on the
east side of the city and is also owned and operated by the city.
(b) The city has experienced only small growth over several decades.
While water demand has not greatly increased, water availability is
steadily decreasing. The Trinity Aquifer system is over-pumped and
static water levels in the city’s four operational wells have
declined at an average rate of 16 feet per year over the past two
decades. Since this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable
future, the city must take action to conserve the resource and examine
alternative sources for future water supplies.
(c) This plan outlines the city’s proposed water conservation and
drought contingency program. The objective of the water conservation
program is to reduce the quantity of potable water necessary for every
waste [water] consumption activity, inasmuch as practical, through
the implementation of efficient water use practices. The drought contingency
program provides procedures for enforcing voluntary and mandatory
actions to be placed into effect, on a temporary basis, aimed at reducing
the demand placed upon the city’s water supply system during
a water shortage emergency. Drought contingency procedures include
conservation but may also include prohibition of certain undesirable
or noncritical uses. Both programs are tools at the city’s disposal
which allow for effective utilization of the area’s water resources.
While the acquisition of a dependable and renewable water supply,
such as a surface water source, may reduce the need for these programs,
the cost of developing such a source may bring about a new list of
benefits for the program. In the meantime, the city will be faced
with potentially crippling water shortages without establishment of
an effective program.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
ex. A, art. I, sec. A)
(a) The city is located in northern McLennan County approximately 15
miles north of the City of Waco on I-35. The city has a population
of 2,515 persons. The water and sewer systems serve mainly the residents
of the city with a few water connections extending to rural customers
outside the corporate limits of the city.
(b) As previously stated, declining static water levels in the city’s
wells necessitate the establishment of the program to extend the life
of the resource. Declining water levels in the wells require the city’s
cost of pumping to increase while the quantity of water available
decreases. While the city’s problems must ultimately be addressed
through construction of a dependable, renewable surface water supply,
the immediate problem can only be relieved through reducing water
demand. The program will extend the life of the current supply providing
the city with additional time in which to establish a more dependable
supply, and reduce long-term consumption thereby making the new source
less costly through better management of the resource.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
ex. A, art. I, sec. B)
(a) It is the goal of the water conservation program to achieve at least
a 5 percent reduction in per capita usage in water consumption. The
savings will also provide a similar reduction of flows received at
the wastewater treatment facilities. The reduction in demand will
reduce the quantity of water supplies required for the future, lower
the peak demand requirements of the distribution system, and reduce
loadings at the wastewater treatment facilities.
(b) Another goal of this program is to increase the percentage delivery
rate of water (from wellhead to metered connection) to 85 percent.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
ex. A, art. I, sec. C)
A detailed summary of utility evaluation data is included in
attachment A to the plan.
(Ordinance adopted 4/20/1993,
ex. A, art. I, sec. D)