City of Plano Moves to Water Conservation Plans

City of Plano Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Watering Restrictions Terminated - NTMWD and the City Move to Water Conservation Plans

PLANO, Texas (July 3, 2007) – The City of Plano today terminated the enforcement of its Drought Contingency Plan, which has been in Stage 3 since June 19, 2006. This action is taken in response to the NTMWD’s decision to move from Stage 3 of its Drought Contingency Plan to its Water Conservation Plan.

Citizens are encouraged to continue the practice of good water conservation measures:

• No watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• No excessive watering such that a constant stream of water overflows from the lawn onto driveways, sidewalks or streets.
• Remember, only one inch of water is needed weekly for your lawns and shrubs.
• No watering during rain or any precipitation events.

“Much has been learned during the past year of drought. We must continue to be good stewards of this natural resource” said Jim Foster, Director of Public Works. “We’ve been praying for rain, and it has been received. I applaud the citizens, businesses, and institutions in Plano for helping the City save almost 6.5 billion gallons of water during the past twelve months. This represents a reduction of 27.5% when compared to our average annual use in the past four years. We have shown that water conservation can become a part of our lives.”

The recent and continued rain events have provided the much needed relief to the drought conditions that have affected the NTMWD reservoir system. Since the beginning of 2007, Lake Lavon has returned to full capacity and Lake Jim Chapman/Cooper has gained 16+ feet and is currently at 89 percent of its capacity. As a result, NTMWD recommended moving from Stage 3 of the Drought Contingency Plan to the Water Conservation Plan based on the following recent changes:

• The three reservoirs utilized by NTMWD have all had significant gains in capacity - Lavon and Texoma are full and Chapman is only 1.5' low;
• With the low water demands in recent months, NTMWD can stay within the State-approved water rights for the remainder of 2007;
• NTMWD has received correspondence from the TCEQ that the East Fork Raw Water Supply Project water rights permit is within days of being finalized and issued.