What’s happening?
Water Utility Director Chelsea Solomon made the recommendation to City Council members during a May 27 workshop. The new schedule would go into effect the week after the South Lake Water Treatment Plant is scheduled to bring more treated water online to allow for one week of testing.
“This does not mean that you have to water two days a week," Solomon said.
The city would remain in a Stage 1 drought, Solomon said. Officials will follow the city’s drought contingency plan and might make adjustments, according to her presentation.
City staff estimates 70% of water usage goes toward irrigation, and peak demand is typically in early August.
How we got here
Phase 1 of the South Lake Water Treatment Plant will come online the week of June 2, but due to piping restrictions, it may only bring 11 million gallons per day of treated water online, a Georgetown official said in an email.
A piping upgrade will bring a total of 22 mgd online in September, and Phase 2 will produce an additional 22 mgd by summer 2026, the official said.
Combined, the South Lake Water Treatment Plant will bring Georgetown’s treated water capacity to 102.4 mgd in 2026, per city documents.
Keep in mind
The last full summer the city of Georgetown was on a two-day-a-week watering schedule was in 2021. The city then entered into State 2 and Stage 3 of its drought contingency plan in June 2022 and July 2023, respectively.
Since 2020, there have been 34,019 wrong day waterings made by Georgetown Water Utility customers, according to the presentation.
Georgetown water customers will receive a courtesy notice the first time a watering violation occurs. If there is no proof of change after the courtesy notice, a violation fee will be issued to the customer, according to the city’s website.
