City of Frisco approves updated water efficiency plan

The North Texas Municipal Water District's largest water supply, Lavon Lake, is nearly full, and with the district subsequently recommending its member cities terminate watering restrictions May 1, the city of Frisco has updated its water efficiency plan.

The Frisco City Council decided April 21 to move from watering restrictions to a series of what they are calling best management practices in an effort to stress water conservation no matter how high the lake levels rise.

Beginning May 1, residents will be allowed to water once per week, on the designated trash day, and will only be allowed to water a second day per week if the city's weather station data recommends watering twice per week. The plan includes encouraging residents to turn their sprinkler systems off and water only when needed, and also increases fees for multiple water violations.

Councilman Scott Johnson at a workshop session before the council meeting pointed out the city is putting more conservation measures in place than the NTMWD is requiring of its member cities. The NTMWD's guidelines say when the conditions that require drought stages no longer exist, the district should do away with any watering restrictions.

The council members as a whole backed the updated plan, saying the city has been and needs to continue to be a pioneer in water conservation.

"We are in a position where we have data the [water] district doesn't have... and hasn't had for the last five years," Public Works Director Gary Hartwell said. "[We need to] use water efficiently based on what is necessary."

Councilman Tim Nelson said he is a proponent of the data-driven decision making on which the plan focuses.

"[The new water efficiency plan] takes away the negatives and focuses on the positives, changing it to a message of what you can do and and what you should do," Nelson said.

Mayor Maher Maso said he has no interest in pulling back on the water restrictions. He said it is about educating the public on water usage regardless of whether the area is in a drought.

The city's weather station has been in operation since 2010, Hartwell said. In 2014, the city recommended watering once per week only 12 weeks out of the year, and has not recommended watering at all since August. The data has not recommended watering more than once per week since mid-2012, and then only once that year.