The West Travis County Public Utility Agency and the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation asked customers to lower their irrigation water usage last week, as both utility companies entered Stage 3 Drought water conservation.
The WTCPUA first entered the third stage on June 17, shortly followed by the DSWSC on June 20. Both entities issued statements involving water restrictions for irrigation, setting strict schedules for their customers. The City of Dripping Springs followed both announcements with a statement on June 24.
“Please curtail use,” the city stated on its facebook page. “Irrigation uses the majority of our water. Please strictly follow the guidelines that both WTCPUA and DSWSC have put out regarding when you can irrigate your lawn. This is crucial to ensure we have enough water for consumption and emergency services.”
“If you are looking to build a pool, please note that the City of Dripping Springs will not approve pool construction permits without approval from your water supply company,” it added.
The lack of water supply and the resulting restrictions have been attributed to increasing temperatures and lack of rainfall. Although Texas summers are usually hot, this one has been significantly so, said Rick Broun, administrative general manager for the DSWSC.
“Summer has come earlier than usual… our beautiful city of Dripping Springs is immersed in a critical drought,” he said. “You’re probably wondering why is there a drought, isn’t it June.. wasn’t it just Spring? To answer that question, you need to look back several months.”
Broun said that this drought has been a long time in the making, thanks to limited rainfall in the fall and winter months last year.
“If our geographic area, including parts of the Hill Country West of Dripping Springs, don’t receive enough Winter Rains, the Trinity Aquifer has a difficult time replenishing itself,” he explained. “During times of good soaking rain, our water levels generally rise and allow us all to enjoy life normally. When the rains don’t fill our aquifer, drought stages are critical to implement as the aquifer levels drop.”
While summer tends to be a drier season in the Hill Country, this summer has been unusually so, according to Jennifer Riechers with the WTCPUA.
“This is the highest water usage we have ever seen in the last ten years,” Riechers said. “We have water; we have plenty of water to treat our current customers. This is 100% an irrigation demand right now.”
“Our operators work all day just to fill the tanks, and then they see the levels drop right back when irrigation systems kick in every night,” she continued. “It’s difficult to get out of the cycle we’re in.”
Neither company sees that cycle changing anytime soon, given the current summer forecast.
“If conditions continue the way they have been, we may need to go stricter, and if we do that will be not only because of the capacity in our tanks but because the pumps are running so hard and may start to break,” Riechers explained. “We have a few different expansion projects near completion that might provide enough relief to get us through the summer, but they’ve been delayed by supply chain issues. It could be an all summer sort of thing”
Because the water shortage is irrigation based, demand likely won’t lessen until September, she added.
“The control is in the customer’s hands,” Riechers said. “If they could cut back, we could get by, but the long-term predictions are not good for getting any relief.”
“Once we receive the “all clear” sign, we will contact our membership, the City of Dripping Springs and those interested in reviewing our website (drippingspringswater.com) that water supplies have improved and enact a lesser drought stage,” Broun said. “Please irrigate by the restrictions now in effect because the drop you save today could be the drop we have tomorrow.”
