Leander Residents can begin watering their lawns twice a week after Leander City Council voted Aug. 6 to move the city to Stage 1 voluntary water conservation measures. Assistant City Manager Kent Cagle said the drought and lower Lake Travis levels compelled the city to issue Stage 3 restrictions—which mandate no more than once-a-week outdoor watering—since March 1, 2014. “Things have drastically improved in the lake levels since that time,” he said. Cagle said the city’s drought contingency plan allows for twice-a-week watering and voluntary water conservation if the combined storage of lakes Travis and Buchanan is above 1.4 million acre-feet. If City Council attempted to keep tighter restrictions, the city could not legally cite violators because such an ordinance would not be supported by the city’s drought contingency plan, Cagle said. City leaders should revisit the issue in a month, he said. “We would hate to see that repeat of 2011 when the lakes were in somewhat decent shape, and then [came] a large downstream release [of water],” Cagle said. The council’s vote was 5-1. Place 4 Council Member Ron Abruzzese—who voted against the measure—said he was concerned most residents would water their lawns twice a week and neglect to conserve water. “We’re just going to tax the [water] system for another month,” Abruzzese said. Cagle said he believed the city’s residents and public utility system can continue to conserve. “We’re doing a good job, and I think there’s two major reasons for that,” Cagle said. “We’re a new community. So most of the homes are new, with low-flow toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, low-flow showerheads. And we have very high rates. And that is the most effective method of conservation that exists, far more effective than sending out a legion of water police watching people to make sure they’re watering their yards at the right time.”