Celina City Council members discussed the city’s ongoing water conservation plans during a March 25 meeting.
“While our water supply is sufficient to meet our city’s day to day needs, it is essential that we be proactively managing our peak irrigation demands during the summer to ensure long-term sustainability,” Public Works Director Andew Figueroa said.
Breaking it down
Celina gets its water from the Upper Trinity Regional Water District, or UTRWD, with a 10 million gallon per day subscription.
As of January, the city has an average of 4.03 million gallons of water per day. No additional supply will be available until May 2027 when Lake Ralph Hall, a UTRWD lake project, becomes operational, Figueroa said.
Other UTRWD projects to increase supply include a second feed line and a plant expansion, both of which are expected to be completed in summer 2028.
“While our system has the pumping capacity to accommodate the increased demands and our subscription supports daily usage, it remains crucial that we manage our water efficiently, promoting conservation to ensure sustainability, supply during peak seasonal demands driven by landscape irrigation,” he said.
Remember this?
Celina’s Drought Contingency Plan The plan is broken into multiple drought stages, which allows city officials to respond to seasonal fluctuations, emergency needs and changing water availability, Figueroa said.
- Conservation Stage
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
The city is currently in Stage 2, which limits outdoor watering to one day per week for automatic irrigation systems and hose-end sprinklers. The strictest level, Stage 3, restricts outdoor watering to once per week for no more than two hours by a handheld hose or drip irrigation.
“These are progressive stages that help us manage water supply efficiently, particularly during high-use demands and system emergencies,” Figueroa said.
Why it matters
Celina has seen a steady increase in water demand over the last few years, Figueroa said. Consumption typically triples during the summer, he said.
While the city’s main goal is to educate residents and have them voluntarily follow conservation efforts, there are enforcement measures to ensure compliance, according to a meeting presentation.
- First violation: Resident is notified by a sign or door-hanger
- Second violation: City notifies resident and may request they disconnect irrigation system
- Third violation: Celina notifies the resident of the violation and may disconnect their water service with other reconnection fees, fines and/or citations.
The fines range from $500-$2,000 and the reconnection charge is $25, according to a meeting presentation. Citations may also be issued by a police officer, code enforcement officer or other city employee.
“Enforcement through service disconnection or fines is a last resort,” Figueroa said.
The city sent out over 4,020 water warnings last summer, 983 of which had to receive another warning, according to a meeting presentation. While there were no citations issued, the city did have 40 days where they exceeded their water subscription in 2024, Figueroa said.
Going forward
Outreach will be a key priority for the city going forward, Figueroa said. Efforts will include social media posts, posts on the city’s website, reminders in newsletters, engagement with local homeowners associations, updates in the weekly report from City Manager Robert Ranc, monthly bill reminders and more.
Mayor Ryan Tubbs recommended during the meeting that the city look into lowering the number of days contractors building new developments are allowed to spend watering new sod. Additional feedback from council members included continuing outreach and looking into other water sources.
Other mitigation measures will be from the city itself, such as flushing the fire hydrants less frequently, more extensive leak detection programs, irrigation system check-ups, implementing groundwater resources to supplement demand and more.
