Drought Contingency Plan
For
Section I. Declaration of Policy, Purpose, and Intent
In order to conserve the available water supply and protect the integrity of water supply facilities, with particular regard for domestic water use, sanitation, and fire protection, and to protect and preserve public health, welfare, and safety and minimize the adverse impacts of water supply shortage or other water supply emergency conditions, the Pecos County Fresh Water hereby adopts the following regulations and restrictions on the delivery and consumption of water.
Water uses regulated or prohibited under this Drought Contingency Plan are considered to be non-essential and continuation of such uses during times of water shortage or other emergency water supply conditions are deemed to constitute a waste of water which subjects the offender(s) To penalties as defined in Section XI of this Plan.
Section II: Public Involvement
Section III: Public Education
The Pecos County Fresh Water will periodically provide the public with information about the Plan, including information about the conditions under which each stage of the Plan is to be initiated or terminated and the drought response measures to be implemented in each stage. This information will be provided by means of utility bill inserts.
Section IV: Coordination with Regional Water Planning Groups
The service area of the Pecos County Fresh Water is located within the Regional Planning Group F and Pecos County Fresh Water has provided a copy of this Plan to the Regional Planning Group F.
Section V: Authorization
The County Commissioner, or his/her designee is hereby authorized and directed to implement the applicable provisions of this Plan upon determination that such implementation is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The Commissioner or his/her designee, shall have the authority to initiate or terminate drought or other water supply emergency response measures as described in this Plan.
Section VI: Application
The provisions of this plan shall apply to all persons, customers, and property utilizing water provided by the Pecos County Fresh Water. The terms “person” and “customer” as used in the plan include individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, and all other legal entities, including our wholesale supplier Coyanosa Water System.
Section VII: Definitions
For the purposes of this Plan, the following definitions shall apply:
Aesthetic water use: water use for ornamental or decorative purposes such as fountains, reflecting pools, and water gardens.
Commercial and institutional water use: water use which is integral to the operations of commercial and non-profit establishments and governmental entities such as retail establishments, hotels and motels, restaurants, and office buildings.
Conservation: those practices, techniques, and technologies that reduce the consumption of water, reduce the loss or waste of water, improve the efficiency in the use of water or increase the recycling and reuse of water so that a supply is conserved and made available for future or alternative uses.
Customer: any person, company, or organization using water supplied by Pecos County Fresh Water.
Domestic water use: water use for personal needs or for household or sanitary purposes such as drinking, bathing, heating, cooking, sanitation, or for cleaning a residence, business, industry, or institution.
Even number address: street addresses, box numbers, or rural postal route numbers ending in 0,2,4,6, or 8 and locations without addresses.
Industrial water use: the use of water in processes designed to convert materials of lower value into forms having greater usability and value.
Landscape irrigation use: water used for the irrigation and maintenance of landscaped areas, whether publicly or privately owned, including residential and commercial lawns, gardens, golf courses, parks, and rights-of-way and medians.
Non-essential water use: water uses that are not essential nor required for the protection of public, health, safety, and welfare, including:
(a) irrigation of landscape areas, including parks, athletic fields, and golf courses, except otherwise provided under this Plan.
(b) use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat trailer, airplane or other vehicle;
(c) use of water to wash down any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hand-surfaced areas;
(d) use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than immediate fire protection;
(e) flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street;
(f) use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools or Jacuzzi-type pools;
(g) use of water in a fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes except where necessary to support aquatic life;
(h) failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak(s); and
(i) use of water from hydrants for construction purposes or any other purposes other than fire fighting.
Odd numbered address: street addresses, box numbers, or rural postal route numbers ending in 1,3,5,7, or 9.
Section VIII: Criteria for Initiation and Termination of Drought Response Stages
The County Commissioner or his/her designee shall monitor water supply and/or demand conditions on a weekly basis and shall determine when conditions warrant initiation or termination of each stage of the Plan, that is, when the specified “triggers” are reached.
The triggering criteria described below are based on known system capacity limits.
Stage 1 Triggers—MILD Water Shortage Conditions
Requirements for initiation
Customers shall be requested to voluntarily conserve water and adhere to the prescribed restrictions on certain water uses, defined in Section VII - Definitions, when annually, beginning on May 1 through September 30.
Requirements for termination
Stage 1 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 3 consecutive days.
Stage 2 Triggers—MODERATE Water Shortage Conditions
Requirements for initiation
Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses provided in Section IX of this Plan when total daily water demand equals or exceeds 90 percent of the system’s safe operating capacity for three consecutive days or equals or exceeds 95 percent of system capacity on a single day.
Requirements for termination
Stage 2 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 3 consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 2, Stage 1 becomes operative.
Stage 3 Triggers—SEVERE Water Shortage Conditions
Requirements for initiation
Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses for Stage 3 of this Plan when total daily water demand equals or exceeds 95 percent of the system’s safe operating capacity for three consecutive days, or equals or exceeds 100 percent of capacity on a single day.
Requirements for termination
Stage 3 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 3 consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 3, Stage 2 becomes operative.
Stage 4 Triggers—CRITICAL Water Shortage Conditions
Requirements for initiation
Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses for Stage 4 of this Plan when total daily water demand equals or exceeds 100 percent of the system safe operating capacity for 3 consecutive days or equals and exceeds over 100 percent of the capacity on a single day.
Requirements for termination
Stage 4 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 3 consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 4, Stage 3 becomes operative.
Stage 5 Trigger—EMERGENCY Water Shortage Conditions
Requirements for initiation
Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions for Stage 5 of this Plan when
1. Major water line breaks, or pump or system failures occur, which cause unprecedented loss of capability to provide water service; or
2. Natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source(s).
Requirements for termination
Stage 5 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 3 consecutive days.
Stage 6 Trigger—WATER ALLOCATION
Requirements for initiation
Customers shall be required to comply with the water allocation plan prescribed in Section IX of this Plan and comply with the requirements and restrictions for Stage 5 of this Plan when initiate on May 1st each year and terminate on September 30th.
Requirements for termination - Water allocation may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have cease to exist for a period of 3 consecutive days.
Note: The inclusion of WATER ALLOCATION as part of a drought contingency plan may not be required in all cases. For example, for a given water supplier, an analysis of water supply availability under drought of record conditions may indicate that there is essentially no risk of water supply shortage. Hence, a drought contingency plan or such a water supplier might only address facility capacity limitations and emergency conditions (e.g., supply source contamination and system capacity limitations.)
Section I): Drought Response Stages
The County Commissioner, or his/her designee, shall monitor water supply and/or demand conditions on a daily basis and , in accordance with the triggering criteria set forth in Section VIII of this Plan, shall determined that a mild, moderate, severe, critical, emergency or water shortage condition exists and shall implement the following notification procedures:
Notification
Notification of the Public:
The
Additional Notifications:
The
Note: The Plan should specify direct notice only as appropriate to respective drought stages.
Stage 1 Response—MILD Water Shortage Conditions
Goals: Achieve a voluntary 5 percent reduction in a day.
Supply Management Measures:
Describe measures, if any, to be implemented directly by
Voluntary Water Use Restrictions:
(a) Water customers are requested to voluntarily limit the irrigation of landscaped areas to Sundays and Thursdays for customers with a street address ending in an even number (,2,4,6 or 8), and Saturdays and Wednesdays for water customers with a street address ending in an odd number (1,3,5,7 or 9), and to irrigate landscapes only between the hours of
(b) All operations of the Pecos County Fresh Water shall adhere to water use restrictions prescribed for Stage 2 of the Plan.
(c) Water customers are requested to practice water conservation and to minimize or Discontinue water use for non-essential purposes.
Stage 2 Response--MODERATE Water Shortage Conditions
Goal: Achieve a 10 percent reduction in a day.
Supply Management Measures:
Describe measures, if any, to be implemented directly by
Water Use Restrictions: Under threat of penalty for violation, the following water use restrictions shall apply to all persons.
(a) Irrigation of landscaped areas with hose-end sprinklers or automatic irrigation systems shall be limited to Sundays and Thursdays for customers with a street address ending in an even number (0,2,4,6 or 8), and Saturdays and Wednesdays for water customers with a street address ending in an odd number ( 1,3,5,7 or 9), and irrigation of landscaped areas is further limited to the hours of 12:00 midnight until 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight on designated watering days. However, irrigation of landscaped areas is permitted at anytime if it is by means of a hand-held hose, a faucet filled bucket or watering can of five (5) gallons or less, or drip irrigation system.
(b) Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other Vehicle is prohibited except on designated watering days between the hours of
(c) Use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools, wading pools, or jacuzzi-typed pools is prohibited except on designated watering days between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between 8 p.m. and 12:00 midnight.
(d) Operation of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a recirculation system.
(e) Use of water from hydrants shall be limited to fire fighting, related activities, or other activities necessary to maintain public health, safety, and welfare, except that use of water from designated fire hydrants for construction purposes may be allowed under special permit from the Pecos County Fresh Water.
(f) Use of water for the irrigation of golf course greens, tees, and fairways is prohibited except on designated watering days between the hours
(g) All restaurants are prohibited from serving water to patrons except request of the patron.
(h) The following uses of water are defined as non-essential and are prohibited:
a. wash down of any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hard-surfaced areas;
b. use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than immediate fire protection;
c. use of water for dust control;
d. flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street;
e. failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak(s).
Stage 3 Response—SEVERE Water Shortage Conditions
Goal: Achieve a 15 percent reduction in a day.
Supply Management Measures:
Describe measures, if any, to be implemented directly by
Water Use Restrictions:
All requirements of Stage 2 shall remain in effect during Stage 3 except:
(a) Irrigation of landscaped areas shall be limited to designated watering days between the hours of
(b) The watering of golf course tees is prohibited unless the golf course utilizes a water source other than that provided by the Pecos County Fresh Water.
(c) The use of water for construction purposes from designated fire hydrants under special permit is to be discontinued.
Stage 4 Response—CRITICAL Water Shortage Conditions
Goal: Achieve a 20 percent reduction in a day.
Supply Management Measures:
Describe measures, if any, to be implemented directly by
Water Use Restrictions:
All requirements of Stage 2 and 3 shall remain in effect during Stage 4 except:
(a) Irrigation of landscaped areas shall be limited to designated watering days between the hours of
(b) Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle not occurring on the premises of a commercial car wash and commercial service stations and not in the immediate interest of public health, safety, and welfare is prohibited. Further, such vehicle washing at commercial car washes and commercial service stations shall occur only between the hours of
(c) The filling, refilling, or adding of water to swimming pools, wading pools, and jacuzzi-type pools is prohibited.
(d) Operations of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a recirculation system.
(e) No application for new, additional, expanded, or increased-in-size water service connections, meters, service lines, pipeline extensions, mains, or water service facilities of any kind shall be approved, and time limits for approval of such applications are hereby suspended for such time as this drought response stage or a higher-numbered stage shall be in effect.
Stage 5 Response—EMERGENCY Water Shortage Conditions
Goal: Achieve a 25 percent reduction in a day.
Supply Management Measures:
Describe measures, if any, to be implemented directly by
Use Restrictions:
All requirements of Stage 2, 3, and 4 shall remain in effect during Stage 5 except:
(a) Irrigations of landscaped areas are absolutely prohibited.
b) Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle is absolutely prohibited.
Stage 6 Response—WATER ALLOCATION
In the event that water shortage conditions threaten public health, safety, and welfare, the
Single-Family Residential Customers
The allocation to residential water customers residing in a single-family dwelling shall be as follows:
Persons per Household Gallons per Month
1 or 2 6,000
3 or 4 7,000
5 or 6 8,000
7 or 8 9,000
9 or 10 10,000
11 or more 12,000
“Household” means the residential premises served by the customer’s meter. “Persons per household” included only those persons currently physically residing at the premises and expected to reside there for the entire billing period. It shall be assumed that a particular customer’s household is comprised of two (2) persons unless the customer notifies the Pecos County Fresh Water of a greater number of persons per household on a form prescribed by the
Residential water customers shall pay the following surcharges:
$ 5.00 for the first 1,000 gallons over allocation.
$ 7.00 for the second 1,000 gallons over allocation.
$ 9.00 for the third 1,000 gallons over allocation.
$11.00 for each additional 1,000 gallons over allocation.
Surcharges shall be cumulative.
Commercial Customers
A monthly water allocation shall be established by the
$5.00 per thousand gallons for the first 1000 gallons over allocation.
$7.00 per thousand gallons for the second 1,000 gallons over allocation.
$9.00 per thousand gallons for the third 1,000 gallons over allocation.
$11.00 per thousand gallons for each additional 1,000 gallons over allocation.
Industrial Customers
A monthly water allocation shall be established by the
$ 5.00 per thousand gallons for the first 1,000 gallons over allocations.
$ 7.00 per thousand gallons for the second 1,000 gallons over allocations.
$ 9.00 per thousand gallons for the third 1,000 gallons over allocations.
$ 11.00 per thousand gallons for each additional 1,000 gallons over allocations.
Section X: Pro Rata Water Allocation
In the event that the triggering criteria specified in Section IX of the Plan for Stage 3 – Severe Water Shortage Conditions have been met, the County Commissioner, or his/her designee is hereby authorized to initiate allocation of water supplies on a pro rata basis in accordance with Texas Water Code Section 11.039.
Section XI: Enforcement
(a) No person shall knowingly or intentionally allow the use of water from the
(b) Any person who violates this Plan is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500). Each day that one or more of the provisions in this Plan is violated shall constitute a separate offense. If a person is convicted of three or more distinct violations of this Plan, the
(c) Any person, including a person classified as a water customer of the Pecos County Fresh Water, in apparent control of the property where a violation occurs or originates shall be presumed to be violator, and proof that the violation occurred on the person’s property shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the person in apparent control of the property committed the violation, but any such person shall have the right to show that he/she did not commit the violation. Parents shall be presumed to be responsible for violations of their minor children and proof that a violation, committed by a child, occurred on property within the parents’ control shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the parent committed the violation, but any such parent may be excused if he/she proves that he/she had previously directed the child not to use the water as it was used in violation of this Plan and that the parent could not have reasonably known of the violation.
(d) Any employee of the Pecos County Fresh Water, police officer or other
Section XII: Variances
The County Commissioner, or his/her designee, may, in writing, grant temporary variance for existing water uses otherwise prohibited under this Plan if it is determined that failure to grant such variance would cause an emergency condition adversely affecting the health, sanitation, or fire protection for the public or the person requesting such variance and if one or more of the following conditions are met:
(a) Compliance with this Plan cannot be technically accomplished during the duration of the water supply shortage or other condition for which the Plan is in effect.
(b) Alternative methods can be implemented which will achieve the same level of reduction water use.
Persons requesting an exemption from the provisions of this Ordinance shall file a petition for variance with the Pecos County Fresh Water within 5 days after the Plan or a particular drought response stage has been invoked. All petitions for variances shall be reviewed by the
(a) Name and address of the petitioner(s).
(b) Purpose of water use.
(c) Specific provision(s) of the Plan from which the petitioner is requesting relief.
(d) Detailed statement as to how the specific provision of the Plan adversely affects the petitioner or what damage or harm will occur to the petitioner or others if petitioner complies with this Ordinance.
(e) Description of the relief requested.
(f) Period of time for which the variance is sought.
(g) Alternative water use restrictions or other measures the petitioner is taking or proposes to take to meet the intent of this Plan and the compliance date.
(h) Other pertinent information.
Variances granted by the Pecos County Fresh Water shall be subject to the following conditions, unless waived or modified by the
(a) Variances granted shall include a timetable for compliance.
(b) Variances granted shall expire when the Plan is no longer in effect, unless the petitioner has failed to meet specified requirements.
No variance shall be retroactive or otherwise justify any violation of this Plan occurring prior to the issuance of the variance.