-
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The city of Graham water treatment plant provides drinking water to the residents of Graham as well as the wholesale customers of Fort Belknap Water Supply Corporation, city of Bryson, city of Newcastle, Graham East Water Supply Corporation and the city of Throckmorton. -
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) A water meter lies buried in Graham on Second Street. During certain drought stages, the city may ask or require residents to restrict water usage.
As summer is on the horizon and other cities around the state look at water conservation efforts, the city of Graham has laid out its conservation and contingency plan in the event of an emergency.
The plan’s purpose is to conserve the available water supply and integrity of water supply facilities for domestic water use, sanitation and fire protection and preserve public health, welfare and safety while minimizing the adverse impacts of a water supply shortage.
The city will provide information regarding water conservation efforts, the conditions under which each drought stage is active and terminated and drought response measures that will be implemented at each stage.
Weekly reports will be provided by the city manager or a city designee to news media regarding the water supply and demand conditions along with consumer information on water use restrictions during severe and emergency drought conditions.
Water stats
The city obtains all of its water from Lake Graham and Eddleman which together have a pool capacity of 1,075 feet and a surface area of 2,444 acres.
The city serves 4,333 retail water connections over 5.12 square miles, with more than 80% of those connections being residential.
The daily capacity of the water system is 6 million gallons per day. The elevated storage capacity is 2.5 million gallons and the ground storage capacity is 500,000 gallons.
The city’s water use of the past five years has annually averaged 793,384,770 gallons of water.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality may require the city to revise water rates to promote conservation, add programs to encourage retrofit of water-conserving plumbing fixtures in existing structures, implement a program for pressure control or reduction in the distribution system or for customer connections and other conservation methods to achieve goals of the city plan.
The city manager or a designee will monitor water supply and demand conditions daily and determine when conditions warrant initiation or termination of one of the five stages of drought.
“The stages are rated at levels one through five, with five being the most severe. At Stage 5, a water emergency will be declared, and water rationing will occur,” City Manager Eric Garretty said during a March 5 city council meeting.
Stage 1
Stage 1 drought restrictions are implemented when the static water level at Lake Graham and Eddleman is equal to or less than 1,067.8 feet above mean sea level, or 65% capacity. Additional triggers are excessive system demand and U.S. Drought Monitor indicating abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions.
The response to this stage is a target reduction of 5% in total water use through voluntary restrictions.
Stage 2
Stage 2 drought restrictions are implemented when the static water level at Lake Graham and Eddleman is equal to or less than 1,065.3 feet above mean sea level, or 55% capacity, and the city is unable to maintain 70% water storage capacity overnight due to high demand.
The response to this stage is a target reduction of 10% in total water use through mandatory restrictions, including following a two-day per week watering schedule and discontinuing water use for non-essential or discretionary purposes.
Non-essential, or discretionary, uses of water are irrigation of landscape area, washing of any type of vehicle, washing any hard surface area or structure other than for immediate fire protection, flushing gutters, filling or refilling swimming pools and filling up ponds or fountains for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except when necessary to support aquatic life.
This stage is also triggered by the demand exceeding 85% treatment capacity for three consecutive days, demand exceeding 90% treatment capacity for one day and the U.S. Drought Monitor indicating severe, extreme, or exceptional drought conditions.
Stage 3
Stage 3 drought restrictions are implemented when the static water level at Lake Graham and Eddleman is equal to or less than 1,062.5 feet above mean sea level, or 45% capacity and the city is unable to maintain 50% water storage capacity overnight due to high demand.
Similar to the second stage, this stage is also triggered by demand exceeding 90% treatment capacity for three consecutive days, demand exceeding 95% treatment capacity for one day and the U.S. Drought Monitor indicating extreme or exceptional drought conditions.
The response to this stage is a target reduction of 20% in total water use through mandatory restrictions, including following a one-day per week watering schedule and discontinuing water use for non-essential or discretionary purposes.
Stage 4
Stage 4 drought restrictions are implemented when the static water level at Lake Graham and Eddleman is equal to or less than 1,059.4 feet above mean sea level, or 45% capacity, and the city is unable to maintain 35% water storage capacity overnight due to high demand.
This stage is also triggered by demand exceeding 95% treatment capacity for three consecutive days, demand exceeding 100% treatment capacity for one day and the U.S. Drought Monitor indicating exceptional drought conditions.
The response to this stage is a target reduction of 30% in total water use through mandatory restrictions, including restricting all outdoor, non-essential, or discretionary uses of water except with handheld hose, water cans or buckets between 7-8 p.m.
Stage 5
Stage 5, the final stage of drought restrictions, are implemented when the static water level at Lake Graham and Eddleman is equal to or less than 1,058 feet above mean sea level, there are water production or distribution limitations, supply source contamination and system outages due to failure or damage of major water system components.
The response to this stage is the city will implement a pro rata allocation to wholesale customers. In the event that the water supply is contaminated, emergency procedures will be implemented and emergency response officials will be notified.
The city has a water right reserve with the Brazos River Authority for water from Possum Kingdom Lake. Though never enacted, in the event of an emergency, the city would work with the BRA to use water from PK Lake, if available.
Violation of plan
Violating an enforcement within a stage could result in a misdemeanor that, upon conviction, would include a fine not to exceed $1,000.
The city may also install a flow-restricting device to limit the amount of water that will pass through the meter in a 24-hour period, and could charge up to $50 for the installation and removal of that device.
The city could also disconnect service at the meter for seven days, or until the end of the calendar month, whichever is less. A reconnect fee would also apply.
