City restricts water usage

By MATT SCHWARTZ

September 8, 2000 Web posted at: 12:18 PM EDT (1618 GMT)

In this story: Usage up during drought Council members question city RELATED STORIES

HOUSTON, Texas (The Houston Chronicle) -- The city on Thursday enacted mandatory water restrictions, implementing fines and surcharges for excessive and nonessential water usage as the Houston area endured the summer's record-breaking drought and heat.

The restrictions, which include fines of up to $500 per violation, were implemented by a 10-1 vote during an emergency City Council meeting.

Mayor Lee Brown called the meeting after city water usage hit a record 583 million gallons Wednesday. The city pumped an average of nearly 581 million gallons per day from Monday through Wednesday, according to the Department of Public Works and Engineering, triggering the city's water emergency ordinance.

Among the rules are designated days for watering lawns and a requirement that leaks be repaired within 24 hours and a prohibition on wasting water by allowing sprinkler water to get on streets, sidewalks and driveways.

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Violations could bring fines of $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second and $500 for any offenses after that.

Customers whose water usage exceeds 80 percent of their average monthly water use over the previous year would see a conservation surcharge tacked on to their monthly bill.

Councilman Bruce Tatro voted against the restrictions because, he said, he was worried about whether residents would be aware of the new measures before they faced fines.

"I understand they said we'll give leniency," Tatro said. "You can't give leniency and then say you're going to fine somebody $100 on the first offense. I'm looking to let the citizen know, before we fine them $100, that we instituted mandatory water rationing. And without that, I don't think it's a fair penalty."

Tatro attempted to amend the ordinance to make the first citation a warning. But Brown cut him off, ruling that debate on the measure had ended.

The recent run of temperatures over 100 degrees prompted the council to invoke the 2-year-old ordinance's mandatory measures for the first time.

A call for voluntary water restrictions was successful last July, but more recent requests by city officials for residents to curtail their water usage have gone unheeded.

"On the contrary, usage went up," said Tom Rolen, acting director of Public Works.

Daily water usage averaged about 540 million gallons from Aug. 28 through Sept. 3, according to figures from Rolen's department.

Thursday's council action declared the city to be in a "serious water shortage period," defined as a time in which average daily water production exceeds 85 percent of the city's capacity. The 85 percent threshold is an average of 567 million gallons per day over three days.

Restrictions during the water shortage period include:

*Designated days and times for businesses and residents to water lawns and gardens. Addresses ending in odd numbers can be watered Wednesdays and Saturdays. Even-numbered addresses can be watered Sundays and Thursdays. Lawn watering is allowed on those days from 8 p.m. to midnight and midnight to 10 a.m.

*Prohibitions on the operation of decorative public and private fountains.

*A ban on nonessential water use, such as street washing; watering parks and esplanades; golf courses, except for greens; and the filling of swimming pools, except for the first time.

Residents also are barred from "wasting water" by allowing water from sprinklers and irrigation systems to reach streets, sidewalks and driveways, or by discharging water for outdoor recreation.

Businesses and residents also could face fines for failing to repair water leaks within 24 hours.

Some restrictions -- such as the prohibition on letting sprinklers wet sidewalks -- caught council members off guard.

Councilman Chris Bell said the city was "making criminals out of overzealous lawn waterers and reckless child bathers."

Bell questioned how much water was being lost through leaks in city water pipes.

Rolen said the amount of "unaccountable water" was about 15 percent of the total usage. He said there was no way to know how much of that was from leaks in city water mains.

He said the number of water main leaks has increased with hot, dry weather and the surge in water use.

Rolen said the restrictions were driven by residents' increased water usage, not leaks from city pipes.

"I'm not sure it's fair to require someone to fix a leak within 24 hours when we don't reciprocate ourselves in fixing or requiring ourselves to fix them in 24 hours," Councilman Bert Keller said.

Rolen said the city only would be able to enforce repair deadlines on residents if it actually sees the leak.

The requirement that sprinklers not get water on streets, sidewalks or driveways also concerned council members.

The city also will rely on residents to help enforce the rules.

The rules do not apply to companies using water to maintain their businesses, such as nurseries and car washes.

The result is that a resident can take his car to a car wash but cannot wash his car in his driveway.

Such ironies prompted council members to suggest that they review the ordinance once the water shortage ends.

As the head of Public Works, Rolen can declare an end to the mandatory restrictions once water usage drops below a three-day average of 567 million gallons a day. The earliest the restrictions could be lifted would be Sunday.

Mandatory water rationing has been imposed in Galveston, Hitchcock, Tiki Island, Santa Fe, Bayou Vista and Jamaica Beach.

The Clear Lake City Water authority initiated a mandatory conservation plan in late July. The authority provides water to 17,000 connections in parts of Houston, Pasadena, Taylor Lake Village and Webster.

The Brazosport Water Authority, which serves Lake Jackson, Angleton, Brazoria, Oyster Creek, Clute, Richwood and Freeport, has issued a mild water-shortage alert and asked customer cities to implement voluntary water restrictions. All but Oyster Creek, which has been using water from its wells, have complied.

Pearland and Danbury asked residents to comply with voluntary water rationing measures.

In Friendswood, officials implemented mandatory rationing.

Chronicle reporter Mike Glenn contributed to this story.

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