[1]
Editor's note–Former article 12.08 pertaining to the water conservation and drought contingency plan was amended and replaced in its entirety with similar provisions by Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024. Prior to the replacement, this article derived from the following: Ordinance 16-0609B adopted 6/9/16; Ordinance 20-1112C, sec. 6, adopted 11/12/20.
(a) 
In order to conserve the available water supply and protect the integrity of water supply facilities, with particular regard for domestic water use, sanitation, and fire protection, and to protect and preserve public health, welfare, and safety and minimize the adverse impacts of water supply shortage or other water supply emergency conditions, the town hereby adopts the following regulations and restrictions on the delivery and consumption of water.
(b) 
Water uses regulated or prohibited under this water conservation and drought contingency plan (the "plan") are considered to be nonessential and continuation of such uses during times of water shortage or other emergency water supply condition are deemed to constitute a waste of water which subjects the offender(s) to penalties as defined in section 12.08.009 of this plan.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
(a) 
The town will periodically provide the public with information about the plan, including information about the conditions under which each stage of the plan is to be initiated or terminated and the measures to be implemented in each stage. This information will be provided by the director through ongoing programs designed to reach a wide variety of customers. These ongoing programs include public outreach to schools, civic groups, and other adult and child groups. The director will distribute conservation and drought response brochures, and provide them to the general public. The town website will be used to educate the public on conservation, and drought response, as well as other topics affecting water use practices.
(b) 
At any time this plan is initiated or terminated, the town manager or his/her designee shall notify the public by means of publication in a newspaper of general circulation, publication on the town's website, signs posted in public places, and may also provide notice by social media posts. Additionally, the director or his/her designee shall directly notify the mayor and members of the town council, the fire chief, the police chief, major water users, and any critical water users (i.e. hospitals).
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
The service area of the town is located within region C water planning group. A copy of the plan has been submitted to the region C group. Because a portion of the water supply is provided by Texas Regional Water District ("TRWD"), a copy of the plan has been provided to them as well.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
The town manager, or his/her designee is hereby authorized and directed to implement the applicable provisions of this plan upon determination that such implementation is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The town manager or his/her designee shall have the authority to initiate or terminate drought or other water supply emergency response measures as described in this plan.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
The provisions of this plan shall apply to all persons, customers, and property utilizing water provided retail by the town. The terms "person" and "customer" as used in the plan include individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations and all other legal entities.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
For the purposes of this plan, the following definitions shall apply:
Aesthetic water use.
Water use for ornamental or decorative purposes such as fountains, reflecting pools, and water gardens.
Areas of water service.
Specific areas with unique and distinct water service delivery and characteristics, such as groundwater supplied and treated surface water supplied.
Commercial and institutional water use.
Water use which is integral to the operations of commercial and nonprofit establishments and governmental entities, such as retail establishments, hotels and motels, restaurants, and office buildings.
Conservation.
Those practices, techniques, and technologies that reduce the consumption of water, reduce the loss or waste of water, improve the efficiency in the use of water or increase the recycling and reuse of water so that a supply is conserved and made available for fixture or alternative uses.
Customer.
Any person, company, or organization using water supplied by the town.
Director.
The director of the town or his/her duly authorized designee responsible for the town's water.
Domestic water use.
Water use for personal needs or for household or sanitary purposes such as drinking, bathing, heating, cooking, sanitation, or for cleaning a residence, business, industry, or institution.
Drought.
Generally, a lack of adequate water to supply needs or replenish supplies used.
Landscape irrigation use.
Water used for the irrigation and maintenance of landscaped areas, whether publicly or privately owned, including residential and commercial lawns, gardens, golf courses, parks, and rights-of-way and medians.
Mayor.
The mayor of the Town of Northlake or his/her duly authorized designee.
Nonessential water use.
Water uses that are not essential or required for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, including:
(1) 
Irrigation of landscape areas, including parks, athletic fields, and golf courses, except otherwise provided by this plan;
(2) 
Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle;
(3) 
Use of water to wash down any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hard-surfaced areas;
(4) 
Use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than the immediate fire protection;
(5) 
Flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street;
(6) 
Use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools or Jacuzzi-type pools;
(7) 
Use of water in a fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except where necessary to support aquatic life;
(8) 
Failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak(s); and
(9) 
Use of water from hydrants for construction purposes or any other purposes other than firefighting.
Person.
Any person, entity, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
Rationing.
Limits the amount of water that can be used.
Restrictions.
Limit how and when water may be used.
Town secretary.
The town secretary of the town of Northlake or his/her duly authorized designee.
Water.
Water taken from any public water supply or distribution system within the boundaries of the town, potable or nonpotable, and means either raw or potable water.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
(a) 
Monitoring.
All relevant components of the town water system will be monitored to ensure timely response to water situations. The TRWD will monitor water supply and raw water delivery trends and potential system constraints. The director will monitor supply, treatment and distribution system trends and potential constraints. Should trends show that any system is approaching trigger levels, more detailed monitoring will be implemented. At a minimum, during noncritical water supply periods, the monitoring and trending will take place monthly. During critical water supply periods the monitoring and trending will take place at least weekly, and if determined necessary, monitored even more frequently.
(b) 
Initiation of drought response.
When emergency or trigger conditions occur, the director or his/her designee shall make recommendations to the town manager of the appropriate stage of the plan to order. The town manager shall have the authority to initiate or terminate the appropriate drought response stage. Notification of the public will occur as set forth in section 12.08.002(b) above.
(c) 
Criteria.
Meeting or exceeding one or more trigger conditions will be sufficient cause to initiate corresponding plan stage. The director, or his/her designee may recommend that a stage not be initiated under these circumstances. Factors which may influence the recommendation and the town manager's decision include, but are not limited to, the time of the year, weather conditions, anticipation of replenished water supplies, or anticipation that facilities will be placed online to serve demand.
(d) 
Notification.
The town will notify the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") within five (5) business days of the implementation of any mandatory provisions of the emergency water management plan.
(e) 
Termination of drought response.
Termination of the drought measure will be announced, and the public shall be notified as set forth in section 12.08.002(b) above when all of the triggering conditions that initiated the drought measures have ceased to exist for a period of three (3) consecutive days.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
(a) 
Yearround, water awareness.
(1) 
Actions available.
Applied locally or to all customers, as necessary some or all may be initiated by the town:
(A) 
Water customers requested to voluntarily reduce water use, to practice water conservation and to minimize water use for nonessential purposes.
(B) 
Initiate public information efforts to teach and encourage reduced water use.
(C) 
Limit landscaping watering at each service address to twice every week based on the last digit of the address per the schedule below:
Last Digit of Address
Allowed Water Days
Even - Residential
Wednesday and Saturday
Odd - Residential
Thursday and Sunday
All - Commercial
Tuesday and Friday
(D) 
Require the public not to water between the hours of 10:00 am. to 6:00 p.m. for efficient use of irrigation water.
(E) 
No watering will be allowed on Monday;
(F) 
Prior to filling any pool in excess of a ten thousand (10,000) gallon capacity (aboveground or in-ground), the owner or the owner's representative shall apply for a scheduled filling date(s) and time with the director. In establishing pool filling date(s) and time, the director shall inspect the water level of the town's domestic water storage tanks to ensure that sufficient water storage is on hand.
(b) 
Stage 1, water watch.
(1) 
Triggering criteria.
(A) 
The water available to the town is equal to or less than 75% of usable storage;
(B) 
Demand exceeds 80% of deliverable capacity for three (3) consecutive days;
(C) 
Water demand equals a reduced delivery capacity, as determined by the town, for all or part of the system due to supply or production capacity limitations including contamination of the system; or
(D) 
Pursuant to the requirements of any wholesale water purchase contract, notification is received requesting initiation of stage 1 of the plan.
(2) 
Actions available.
Applied locally or all customers, as necessary, some or all may be initiated by the town:
(A) 
Initiate emergency engineering studies to evaluate alternatives should conditions worsen.
(B) 
Continue public information efforts regarding water supply conditions and conservation efforts.
(C) 
Begin mandatory water use restrictions as follows:
(i) 
Prohibit hosing off of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, paved areas, tennis courts, or other hard-surfaced areas;
(ii) 
Prohibit wash down of buildings, windows or structures, other than for fire protection;
(iii) 
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 recirculation system;
(iv) 
Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle is prohibited except on designated watering days between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight. Such washing, when allowed, shall be done with a handheld bucket or a handheld hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle for quick rinses. Vehicle washing may be done at any time on the immediate premises of a commercial carwash or commercial service station. Further, such washing may be exempted from these regulations if the health, safety, and welfare of the public is contingent upon frequent vehicle cleansing, such as garbage trucks and vehicles used to transport food and perishables;
(v) 
Prohibit the flushing of gutters;
(vi) 
Use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools, wading pools, or Jacuzzi-type pools is prohibited, except on designated watering days between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight;
(vii) 
Use of water from hydrants shall be limited to firefighting, related activities, or other activities necessary to maintain public health, safety, and welfare, except that use of water from designated fire hydrants for construction purposes may be allowed under special permit from the town;
(viii) 
Use of water for the irrigation of golf course greens, tees, and fairways is prohibited except on designated watering days between the hours 12:01 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. However, if the golf course utilizes a water source other than that provided by the town, the facility shall not be subject to these regulations;
(ix) 
All restaurants are prohibited from serving water to patrons except upon request of the patron;
(x) 
Prohibit using water for dust control or in such a manner as to allow runoff or other water wastes;
(xi) 
The town manager or his/her designee may modify the above watering schedule to take into account areas of water service within the town while adhering to the twice weekly watering schedule;
(xii) 
Require the public not to water between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for efficient use of irrigation water; and
(xiii) 
The lowest address number will identify apartments, office building complexes or other property containing multiple addresses. Where there are no numbers, a number will be assigned by the director. These restrictions also apply to government facilities.
(D) 
Exceptions to the above mandatory water use restrictions: Foundations and new plantings (first year) of trees and shrubs may be watered with a handheld or soaker hose on any day for up to 2 hours; nurseries may water plant stock only; public gardens may water without restrictions. Handheld watering by hose with automatic shutoff valve or by bucket may be done on any day. Restrictions do not apply to any location using private wells or wastewater effluent for irrigation.
(E) 
Require a reduction by area governmental agencies of nonessential water use and a reduction in landscape watering.
(F) 
Encourage public to delay until the emergency water situation has passed to establish new landscaping.
(G) 
Prohibit draining and refilling of existing pools and filling of new pools. Existing commercial, public and private swimming pools that are filled may add water to replace that lost during daily use.
(3) 
Termination.
All initiated measures will remain in effect until all of the conditions that triggered stage 1 have ceased to exist for a period of three (3) consecutive days or until such time as the director has determined that necessity for the initiated actions no longer exists. If stage 1 is initiated because of excessive demands, all initiated actions will remain in effect through September 30th of the current year or until the town manager or his/her designee determines that these measures are no longer required.
(c) 
Stage 2, water warning.
(1) 
Triggering criteria.
(A) 
The water available to the town is equal to or less than sixty percent (60%) of usable storage;
(B) 
Demand exceeds eighty-five percent (85%) of deliverable capacity for three (3) consecutive days;
(C) 
Water demand exceeds a reduced delivery capacity for all or part of the system due to supply or production capacity limitations including contamination of the system; or
(D) 
Pursuant to the requirements of any wholesale water purchase contract, notification is received requesting initiation of stage 2 of the plan.
(2) 
Actions available.
Applied locally or to all customers, as necessary; some or all may be initiated:
(A) 
Implement recommended engineering alternatives.
(B) 
Continue implementation of all restrictions from previous stages.
(C) 
Begin additional mandatory water use restrictions as follows:
(i) 
Prohibit residential or commercial landscape watering and carwashing between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
(ii) 
Limit landscaping watering at each service address to once every week based on the last digit of the address per the schedule below:
Last Digit of Address
Allowed Water Days
Even - Residential
Saturday
Odd - Residential
Thursday
All - Commercial
Tuesday
(iii) 
No watering will be allowed on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
(iv) 
The town manager or his/her designee may modify the above watering schedule to take into account areas of water service within the town while adhering to the once weekly watering schedule.
(v) 
Foundations, shrubs, and trees may be watered with soaker or handheld hose on the same weekly basis as landscapes (set forth in subsection (c)(2)(C) above) for up to two hours.
(vi) 
Public gardens may water, but not between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
(vii) 
Nurseries may water plant stock, but not between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
(viii) 
No new landscaping may be established during this period.
(ix) 
No refilling of private pools. Commercial and public pools may refill water lost from normal daily use.
(3) 
Termination.
All initiated actions will remain in effect until all of the conditions that triggered stage 2 have ceased to exist for a period of three (3) consecutive days or until such time as the director of public works has determined that necessity for the initiated actions no longer exists. If stage 3 is initiated because of excessive demands, all initiated actions will remain in effect through September 30th of the current year or until the town manager or his/her designee determines that these measures are no longer required.
(d) 
Stage 3, water emergency.
(1) 
Triggering criteria.
(A) 
The water available to the town is equal to or less than 45% of usable storage;
(B) 
Demand exceeds 90% of deliverable capacity for three (3) consecutive days;
(C) 
Water demand seriously exceeds a reduced delivery capacity for all or part of the system due to supply or production capacity limitations including contamination of the system; or
(D) 
Pursuant to the requirements of any wholesale water purchase contract, notification is received requesting initiation of stage 4 of the plan.
(2) 
Actions available.
Applied locally or to all customers, as necessary; some or all may be initiated:
(A) 
Continue implementation of all restrictions from previous stages.
(B) 
Begin additional mandatory water use restrictions as follows:
(i) 
Prohibit residential and commercial landscape watering, with the following exceptions:
a. 
Nurseries' plant stock may be watered, but not between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. All watering must adhere to the weekly landscape watering schedule of subsection (c)(2)(C).
b. 
Public gardens may water, but not between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. All watering must adhere to the weekly landscape watering schedule of subsection (c)(2)(C).
c. 
Foundations may be watered for a two-hour period, but not between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. All watering must adhere to the weekly landscape watering schedule of subsection (c)(2)(C), and must be done with a soaker hose or a handheld hose with an automatic shut-off valve.
d. 
Any location using groundwater or wastewater effluent for irrigation.
(ii) 
Any and all washing of vehicles is prohibited, except vehicles that need to be washed for health, sanitation, or safety reasons, such as food carriers. Any vehicle washing must occur at a commercial carwash or commercial service station with a recirculating water system.
(iii) 
No new landscaping may be established during this period.
(iv) 
No refilling of private pools. Commercial and public pools may refill water lost from normal daily use.
(C) 
All commercial water uses may be required to reduce water consumption by a percentage determined by the town manager or his/her designee.
(3) 
Termination.
All initiated actions will remain in effect until all of the conditions that triggered stage 3 have ceased to exist for a period of three (3) consecutive days or until such time as the director has determined that necessity for the initiated actions no longer exists. If stage 3 is initiated because of excessive demands, all initiated actions will remain in effect through September 30th or until the town manager determines that these measures are no longer required.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024; Ordinance 24-1212C adopted 12/12/2024)
(a) 
No person shall knowingly or intentionally allow the use of water from the town for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental, or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provisions of this plan, or an amount in excess of that permitted by the drought response stage in effect at the time pursuant to action taken by the town manager, or his/her designee, in accordance with provisions of this plan.
(b) 
Any person who violates this plan is guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day that one or more of the provisions in this plan is violated shall constitute a separate offense. If a person is convicted of 3 or more distinct violations of this plan, the director, shall, upon due notice to the customer, be authorized to discontinue water service to the premises where the violations occur. Services discontinued under such circumstances shall be restored only upon payment of reconnection charge, and any other costs incurred by the town in discontinuing service. In addition, suitable assurance must be given to the director that the same action will not be repeated while the plan is in effect. Compliance with this plan may also be sought through injunctive relief in the district court.
(c) 
Any person, including a person classified as a water customer of the town, in apparent control of the property where the violation occurs or originates shall be presumed to be the violator, and proof that the violation occurred on the person's property shall constitute a reputable presumption that the person in apparent control of the property committed the violation, but any such person shall have the right to show he/she did not commit the violation. Parents shall be presumed to be responsible for violations of their minor children and proof that a violation, committed by a child, occurred on the property within the parent's control shall constitute a reputable presumption that the parent committed the violation, but any such parent may be excused if he/she proves that he/she had previously directed the child not to use the water as it was used in violation of this plan and that the parent could not have reasonably known of the violation.
(d) 
Any employee of the town, police officer, or other employee designated by the director, may issue a citation to a person he/she reasonable believes to be in violation of this plan. The citation shall be prepared in duplicate and shall contain the name and address of the alleged violator, if known; the offense charged and shall direct him/her to appear in the municipal court, on the date shown on the citation.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
(a) 
Any person who maintains or uses private water wells for other than domestic water use (such as landscape irrigation) is exempt from the requirements, restrictions and limitations of the water management stages of this plan. Individuals with private water wells are, however, encouraged by the town to abide by the plan and its water conservation goals in order to protect long-term water supplies.
(b) 
At any time this plan is initiated, to be entitled to such exemption, any such person shall be required to post notice of such private water well use. Each person shall pay for an appropriate sign, which will be provided by the town indicating a private water well supply. The sign shall be placed in the yard in close proximity to the town's water meter indicating private water well use until such time as the plan has been terminated.
(c) 
Private well owners must register their well and type of well with the public works department.
(d) 
Failure to post the required sign or to register any private well during stage 2 through stage 4 water management stages, shall result in the loss of the exemption from the landscaping water requirements.
(e) 
This provision only applies to owners of private water wells that are also town water customers with a water meter and account with the town.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
(a) 
The director, or his/her designee, may, in writing, grant temporary variance for existing water uses otherwise prohibited under this plan, if it is determined that failure to grant such variance would cause an emergency condition adversely affecting the health, sanitation, or fire for the public or the person requesting such variance and if one or more of the following conditions are met:
(1) 
Compliance with this plan cannot be technically accomplished during the duration of the water supply shortage or other condition for which the plan is in effect.
(2) 
Alternative methods can be implemented which will achieve the same level of reduction in water use.
(b) 
Persons requesting an exemption from the provisions of this plan shall file a petition for variance with the town within five (5) days after the plan for a particular drought response stage has been invoked. All petitions for variances shall be reviewed by the director, or his/her designee, and shall include the following:
(1) 
Name and address of the petitioner(s).
(2) 
Purpose of water use.
(3) 
Specific provision(s) of the plan from which the petitioner is requesting relief.
(4) 
Detailed statement as to how the specific provision of the plan adversely affected the petitioner or what damage or harm will occur to the petitioner or others if the petitioner complies with this plan.
(5) 
Description of the relief requested.
(6) 
Period of time for which the variance is sought.
(7) 
Alternative water use restrictions or other measures the petitioner is taking or proposes to take to meet the intent of this plan and the compliance date.
(8) 
Other pertinent information.
(c) 
Variances wanted by the town shall be subject to the following conditions unless waived or modified by the director:
(1) 
Variances granted shall include a timetable for compliance.
(2) 
Variances granted shall expire when the plan is no longer in effect, unless the petitioner has failed to meet specified requirements.
(d) 
No variance shall be retroactive or otherwise justify any violation of the plan occurring prior to the issuance of the variance.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)
"Water wasting" means to permit or cause water flow, spray, or otherwise move or discharge water from the premises to or upon the street, alley, or public right-of-way, ditch or drain, or failing to repair a leak in a private plumbing system or in an irrigation system within five (5) working days of the discovery or notification of such. Any violation of this section is punishable as set forth in the general penalty provision found in section 1.01.009 of this code.
(Ordinance 24-0613A adopted 6/13/2024)