Water use enters peak demand season, Georgetown customers asked to follow watering schedule to avoid fines

With the start of summer and the period of highest water demand, the city of Georgetown asked water utility customers to make sure they follow the two-day watering schedule for irrigation systems and hose-end sprinklers.

The year-round, two-day-per-week irrigation schedule is based on the last digit of the street address, a news release from the city said.

Addresses ending in 1, 5 and 9 may water Tuesday and/or Friday. Addresses ending in 2, 4, 6, and 8 may water Wednesday and/or Saturday. Addresses ending in 0, 3 and 7 may water Thursday and/or Sunday. The schedule is posted here.

"Irrigation is not permitted on Mondays because they are a maintenance and recovery day for the water system," the release said. "The two-day schedule spreads watering over six days each week in order to balance demand on the water system."

Violations of the irrigation schedule may result in fines, the release said. Watering with a hand-held hose or bucket can be done any day and at any time. Other outdoor water uses, such as washing a vehicle or filling a swimming pool, can be done any day at any time.

During the summer months, 75% of the drinking water treated each day in the city is used to irrigate lawns and landscapes, the release said, adding the utility has added more than 3,000 new water customers in the past year as a result of new residences and businesses in the area.

"To address growth, the utility has completed the Braun elevated storage tank and is working on other projects, like the expansion of the Lake Water Treatment Plant, to increase our capacity,” Water Utility Director Glenn Dishong said in the release. “But given the growth in demand from new homes and the likelihood of hot and dry weather, we anticipate we will again be near our plant capacity this summer."

One way for customers to reduce overall water use is to use the seasonal adjust setting on their irrigation system controller. The seasonal adjust feature on the controller allows users to decrease or increase watering times on their schedule by a set percentage.

"For example, changing the seasonal adjust to 80 percent would result in run times for each watering zone on the system at 80 percent of the normal schedule," the release said. "As customer demand reaches the production capacity of the system, the utility will be asking customers to use their seasonal adjust setting to reduce demand and stay within the plant production capacity."

Using seasonal adjust to reduce demand can help to avoid more drastic reductions in usage by limiting watering days, the release said. If usage exceeds 90 percent of plant capacity for a long enough period of time, then then next step is to limit watering to one day per week.

"The best time for watering your lawn and landscape is on your watering day in the early morning hours after midnight," it said. "This allows the water to soak into the soil and reach the roots of your grass and plants. Watering during the heat of the day, especially between noon and 7 p.m., should be avoided since much of the water sprayed from sprinklers will evaporate and is wasted."

For assistance in programming an irrigation controller, customers can call 512-930-3640 or email [email protected].