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Drought


Stuie

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So most of you are no where near this part of the country, but where I am at has hit a milestone.

 

Wichita Falls, Texas has hit Starge 4 Water Restrictions, making it the first time in our city's history and the largest city in Texas to reach Stage 4 since possibly the dust bowl.

 

9 more smaller cities around us are about to follow suit. So what does all this mean. I will show you each stage, moving to the next stage all previous stage restrictions stay in effect.

 

 

Stage 1 - Drought Watch:

 

1. The City Council and other City departments will be notified of the impending problem and the proposed immediate and future actions.
2. In conjunction with the Public Information Office, initiate an education program through all available media to: A. Alert the public to the depletion of the reservoirs; current rate of withdrawals and the effect of such withdrawals; current meteorological conditions; and long range forecast from the National Weather Service. B. Alert the public to the drought management program, the various stages and measures and the possibility of implementation. C. Keep a constant flow of information to the public to condition them for more stringent measures.
3. Notify the Parks Department to reduce their watering scheduling to twice per week.
4. Coordinate with other departments on the structure to conduct a voluntary and non voluntary water restriction program.
5. Conduct training necessary to implement the water restriction program.
6. Prepare all administrative processes (forms, affidavits, maps, offices, etc.) for the restriction program.

 

Stage 2 - Drought Warning:

 

1. Mail a copy of the conservation Ordinance and the Water Rationing Zone Map with a cover letter describing the drought conditions to each water account. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or entity to:
A. Run outside irrigation systems including sprinklers, automatic sprinkler systems and unattended water hoses except on the day of the week permitted for an area as identified on the water rationing zone map.
B. Run any type of outside watering on any day of the week between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., except as authorized by subsection (d)(1) of the Conservation Ordinance.
C. Wash any motor vehicle at any location other than a commercial car wash, car dealership, detail shop of automotive shop.
D. Conduct fund raising car washes during the time of the drought warning.
E. Wash sidewalks, driveways or concrete slabs unless an immediate health of safety risk present.
2. Form a Drought Emergency Task Force to guide the remainder of this drought emergency plan and to interface with the public.
3. Every available forum will be used to continue to educate the general public regarding the status of our water supply and to make pleas for water conservation. This can be accomplished by various means including but not limited to news letters; the electronic and printed media; billing statements; closed circuit television bulletin board; eliciting the aid of civic organizations such as service clubs, scouting organizations, etc; working through the public school districts to ask the full support of all classroom teachers.
4. All leaks in the raw water and treatment water system will be repaired immediately, without waiting for the most cost effective time.

 

Starge 3 - Drought Emergency: (Sorry this list is the easiest to understand)

 

Irrigation: Spray, Sprinkler, Drip, Bubbler, Soaker
It shall be unlawful to utilize spray irrigation in any but the following hours:
12 midnight to 5 a.m. for Automatic Sprinkler System
8p.m. to 12 midnight for Hose-End Sprinkler Systems

Definitions:
Spray Irrigate or Spray Irrigation -- a category of irrigation methods that utilizes devices that spray water away from the device orifice(s). These include, but are not limited to, pop up sprays, rotors, oscillating sprinklers, and impact sprinklers. A hand held hose is not Spray Irrigation.
Automatic Sprinkler System -- a system of irrigation components made up of permanently installed underground PVC lines and spray irrigation devices that are controlled from an automatic irrigation controller.
Hose-end Sprinkler System -- a device on the end of a garden hose that can be set in place and periodically moved from one location to another.

Unlawful
It shall be unlawful to operate a soaker hose, bubbler or drip irrigation system in a manner that causes the delivery of more water than the hose, bubbler, or system was intended by the manufacturer to deliver.

 

Definitions:

Drip Irrigation -- a method of irrigation that applies water in a dropwise fashion directly to the soil beneath rather than projecting the water in a stream away from its orifice. To be classified in this category, the maximum allowable flow is 6 gallons per hour per emitter.
Soaker Hose -- an irrigation device made of permeable rubber hose that allows water to be applied slowly and directly to the soil without being sprayed up into the air. Soaker hoses fall into the drip irrigation category. A soaker hose will not spray water regardless of its orientation.

Unlawful
It shall be unlawful to operate a soaker hose, bubbler or drip irrigation system in a manner that causes water to run down the curb.
Nursery Plant Stock is exempt from the provisions of subsection (a) of (e)(1)(a).

Pools
It shall be unlawful to operate a water feature on a Residential Pool, including, but not limited to, fountains, water falls, descents, arcs, and slides.

Definition:
Residential Pool – A pool that is located on private property under the control of the property owner or the owner’s tenant and that is intended for use by not more than two residential families and their guests. It includes a pool serving only a single-family home or duplex.
If repairing a pool, it shall only be drained to a level necessary to effect the repair, and no further. Owners of pools that follow this restriction will be allowed to re-fill their pool after the repair.

Definition:
Pool Owner/Operator – Fee title holder of the property upon which the pool is located, and/or business manager, complex manager, property owners, association manager, rental agent or other individual who is in charge of the day to day operation or maintenance of the property.
Owners Operators of pools that are restricted from draining the pool once it closed for the season.

Car Washes:
All self-serve and full-service car washes within the corporate City Limits will be required to close the car washing portion of their business on one day each week. The scheduled day of closure shall coincide with the day that car wash is allowed to spray irrigate, in accordance with the Water Rationing Zone map.

Unlawful
It shall be unlawful for a car wash to use a nozzle that discharges more than 3.0 gallons per minute.
It shall be unlawful for a car wash to wash any of its bays with water, except on Sundays.

Public and Private Golf Courses
A) Greens:
●Golf courses may utilize Spray Irrigation on greens at any time for the purposes of cooling golf course putting surfaces when warranted by weather conditions and only with run cycles of less than five minutes.
●Golf course greens are exempt from the Spray Irrigation days established in (d)(1), and greens may be Spray Irrigated any day of the week. Tee-Boxes
●It shall be unlawful for golf courses to Spray Irrigate Tee-Boxes, except on the day of the week permitted for the area as identified on the Water Rationing Zone map.
●Golf courses are exempt from the spray irrigation time limitations of Stage 3. Golf courses will continue to be subject to the prohibition of spray irrigation during the daylight hours between 11a.m. & 6 p.m.
C) Fairways
●It shall be unlawful for golf courses to Spray Irrigate fairways

Restaurants / Bars / Clubs / School Cafeterias:
It shall be unlawful for a food establishment to thaw food with water. Food must be thawed by another method that is approved by the Health Code, i.e. Refrigeration or Cooking Process.
It shall be unlawful for a food establishment to clean kitchen or food handling areas with spray hoses. The cleaning of kitchen and food handling areas shall be accomplished by means of brooms and mops only

 

Car Dealers
It shall be unlawful for a car dealer to wash its inventory of cars on any day other than the day the property is authorized to spray irrigate in accordance with the Water Rationing Zone Map in effect.

 

 

Stage 4 - Drought Disaster: (This is where we are)

 

The Director of Public Works shall impose mandatory restrictions on essential uses of water and take the following actions to include, but not limited to:
1. Total ban on all outdoor irrigation/watering (no matter what type of hose or device).
2. A home foundation may be watered using only soaker hose, from 8:pm to midnight, on the designated day to water for the property.
3. It is unlawful to wash sidewalks, driveways or structures.
4. The surcharge triples for any amount of water used over ten units. The charge will be $3 per unit used over ten units. This charge increases as additional units are used.
5. All hydrant meters for contractor use will be pulled and service suspended until conditions return to a Drought Emergency status.
6. It shall be unlawful to irrigate any and all turf areas on golf courses including greens, tee boxes, and fairways using water from the City system.
7. Large industries will be required to conduct an internal water audit to see if there are additional water conservation efforts they can undertake and submit a report to City Staff within 60 days. Changes must be implemented by the time combined lake levels reach 20%.
8. The City will continue an aggressive public relations and education program.

 

Lake%20Arrowhead%2011-7-2013%20%289%29%2

 

This is Lake Arrowhead. The large dock in the background is about where the water level should be. The smaller dock lying on the ground is a pedestrian floating dock... see the water that's left in the lake?

 

This is where I am and things are getting tough around here. Plans for a Stage 5 plan of action are in planning stages with the city and the state, I can only assume it will require some evacuation.

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But there is no global warming and industrialization has absolutely no effect on our environment whatsoever.  So this must all be in your imagination, right?  (And yes, that was extreme sarcasm.)  Greed, and the capitalization that comes as a result of greed is going to muck up the planet where it will become uninhabitable.  And we've got no place else to go.  

 

Seriously Stuie that's a bitch to have to live through but I have little doubt we have ourselves to blame is such things become more and more common.

 

'Rani

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Water restriction are common occurance for us since my parents where kids back in the 50s. But it rarely got past 2. This is the first time for 4.

 

It sucks. Landscaping companies and car wash companies have already made temporary layoffs until restriction die down. I know of one that has completely shut down until water restrictions come down until 2 or better.

 

I am going to keep that tree alive in my backyard at all costs though...7 trees and it's the last survivor!

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When is hurricane season?  Living on the West coast I never keep up on them.  But if we just passed it (which seems like I heard the typhoon in the Philippines was like end of season or something?), then the panhandle is in deep kimchee.  It's not going to get better until spring.  I was in the area a couple Christmases ago and I was told the dry, icy weather was par for the course for winters.

 

'Rani

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So do you have to get black market water for your hookah?  Is a hookah actually illegal now because of water laws?

 

Sorry to hear that you are high and dry. Let me know if you want me to send you some bottled water.

 

In the picture; what is that green patch in the foreground?  Is that where some algae got stranded or did grass start to grow on the dry lake bed?

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Ashley, I believe that is an algea patch or grass patch. Both have been been forming as the water has been receeding all year.

 

I will say bottled water has jumped up here in price, but since I have been travelling for holidays, I have stocked up on the road.

 

Chris, I have been stocking up on AXE for just this time of Crisis.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Still stage 4. Luckily all the snow we got helped keep us from getting to close to stage 5 preperations. Still just praying for rain, man.

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Wow, I can't believe you're still on condition 4. Any signs that things are getting better, aside from the snow?

 

Also, not really relevant, but if I were to ever write a musical it would be called "Drought!" and basically be about a drought in the slave era. It would be a comedy.

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sucks...we have totally diff climates lol...we hate when it rains cuz no one can work and fields get floded...we get our water from the all american..so droughts dont affect us

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Yeah last year my brother and I were going to go in on a boat together for us and our kids.... that's on hold indefinitely now.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Well we made the UK News... and we are close to making history.... Stage 5 Water Restrictions... first ever city in the world to recycle waste water for consumption.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2569289/From-flush-faucet-Drought-stricken-Texas-town-turning-sewer-water-drinking-water.html

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We are, it's just so wierd, but we all just want to be able to take showers on a daily basis.

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