The West Travis County Public Utility Authority will initiate limited water use requirements July 1 as a part of its Water Conservation & Drought Contingency Plan. Stage one of the drought contingency plan went into effect Sept. 12, 2016. This stage contained voluntary water management guidelines recommending WTCPUA customers irrigate landscaped areas on a limited weekly schedule, outlined on a notice posted on WTCPUA.org by WTCPUA General Manager Robert Pugh. The WTCPUA board members discussed the implementation of stage two of the plan during an operations report presented at today's meeting. Stage two—which prohibits filling swimming pools, washing vehicles and using outdoor water features—will go into effect July 1, according to the meeting agenda packet. The decision to initiate stage two was based on the historical increase in demand for water during the summer, Pugh said. “Anticipating the expected forecast, we wanted to give customers enough advance notice so they can begin planning accordingly,” he said. An announcement about the required water conservation measures will be included in WTCPUA customers’ June water bills, Pugh said. There are approximately 7,000 WTCPUA customers system-wide, and all customers will be required to adhere to the drought contingency plan, he said. Stage two will remain in effect until further notice, although it typically ends around October, Pugh said. The WTCPUA Water Conservation & Drought Contingency Plan is available at www.WTCPUA.org.