As the summer heat approaches, Katy officials are working to combat drought through changes to the city’s water conservation and drought contingency plans.

Katy City Council approved changes to the plans at a May 13 meeting, including changing stage triggers and outdoor watering schedules.

Zooming in

The new drought contingency plan will change the trigger for Stage 1 water demand to 70% of usage rather than 75% for three consecutive days, according to the updated plan.

“The change in Stage 2 especially is very significant, and in the past we have skipped Stage 1 altogether, so I think the new levels are much better, and we will actually utilize Stage 1 where it makes sense," council member Dan Smith said.


The new plan also adds changes to Stage 3, including prohibiting:
  • Swimming pool permits
  • Operation of splash pads
It also makes it mandatory to restrict watering outdoors to only three days a week, as opposed to it previously being voluntary. The plan also changes the outdoor watering schedules to differ depending on whether properties are residential or commercial rather than a schedule based on the last digit of the address.
The drought contingency plan was last updated in July 2022, according to plan documents.

What else?

According to the updated plan, since the last update to the city’s water conservation plan in July 2019, city staff has focused efforts on expanding its water resources, including:
  • Upgrading water meters to allow for real-time reading
  • Adding another water storage facility and increasing the storage from 7.25 million to 8.75 million gallons
  • Upgrading the six water plants’ production, with all plants in full operation to provide the ability to produce between 11 million and 12.3 million gallons of water per day instead of the previous 8.75 million
Why it matters

The updated plan also adds enforcement procedures to Stage 2, including:
  • First violation: written warning
  • Second and subsequent violations: a $200-$2,000 fine per incident
The city may also cut off water service to customers who violate the restrictions, according to the updated plan.


Council is required to review the plan every five years.

Looking ahead

With its approval at the May 13 City Council meeting, the new water conservation and drought contingency plans are now in effect for the city of Katy.