Travis County Water Control and Improvement District 17, or WCID 17, has issued notice to customers that, due to lowering lake water levels, the Lower Colorado River Authority, or LCRA, has moved to Stage 2 water restrictions, signifying a moderate water shortage.

What it means

There are four stages of water restrictions enforced by LCRA:

• Stage 1: indicates baseline water conservation
• Stage 2: indicates a moderate water shortage
• Stage 3: indicates a severe water shortage
• Stage 4: indicates critical water conditions

In stages 1 and 2, watering is allowed either once or twice per week, and in stages 3 and 4, no watering is allowed.

This winter, water inflows to the Highland Lakes have been measured at less than 25% of the historical average. This measurement requires the LCRA to trigger Stage 2 water restrictions, according to a news release shared by WCID No. 17.

WCID No. 17 must reduce water usage by 20% through implementation of new restriction measures. These measures will require residents to irrigate their properties only once per week, based on the last digit of their address. Violating these requirements will be subject to fines or termination of water service.

The details

Last digits and their corresponding days of irrigation are as follows:

• Monday: 0, 1
• Tuesday: 4, 5, 6
• Wednesday: 7, 8, 9
• Thursday: 2, 3
• Friday: commercial/home owners associations
• Saturday/Sunday: no automated systems allowed

What else?

In addition to limiting irrigation, Stage 2 water restrictions also require additional drought fees be paid to WCID No. 17. This fee is applied when the region is facing either a moderate, severe or critical water shortage.

“While water restrictions are essential for conserving our most precious resource, they also reduce the utility’s revenue,” said Jason Homan, general manager of WCID No. 17, in a news release. “A significant portion of the district’s operating costs are fixed, regardless of water sales. To ensure we can continue delivering safe and reliable drinking water, we must implement drought fees during these periods.”

To limit customer impacts, the board has increased its operational reserve from $8 million to $13 million. This increase will allow the district to make up for a large portion of revenue shortfalls, thereby decreasing the amount customers will have to spend on drought fees, according to the news release.