City of Carrollton, TX
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Where does Carrollton get its water?
Carrollton purchases water from Dallas Water Utilities (DWU). DWU receives water from 6 local reservoirs: Lake Fork, Lake Grapevine, Lake Lewisville, Lake Ray Hubbard, Lake Ray Roberts, and Lake Tawakoni. The trigger for DWU to require mandatory watering restrictions is when the cumulative depletion of all these reservoirs reaches 35%. Daily lake level updates
Why does Carrollton have a Seasonal Water Demand Conservation Strategy?
Throughout the year, water use rises and falls usually based on the seasons. Our overall water use declines when it's cold and rainy outside. In the spring and summer, when many of us turn our attention to our landscape, water use rises dramatically. This is called our "peak water use" or "seasonal water use". Our delivery system and our water supplies from DWU are running at maximum capacity from around April 1st when we start working in our yards (and turn on the sprinkler systems) until about October 31st when the weather begins to cool down and water use starts to decline. All cities and water suppliers must manage this peak to protect the pipes, pumps and equipment used for water delivery.
Why are the watering restrictions in Carrollton different from other communities?
There are a variety of factors that influence how each city in North Texas manages their water consumption. Items such as which water supplier serves the community (there are 5 different water suppliers in our region), current and historical water demand, water supply levels, how effective voluntary restrictions work in that community, water system design and current/forecasted weather patterns all play a part in the decision making. The City of Carrollton has carefully prepared our Water Conservation/Drought Contingency Plan to properly respond to annual peak water use as well as when a drought or supply issues may come about. Our specific measures or restrictions align with those adopted by Dallas Water Utilities.
What is the penalty if we violate the mandatory restrictions?
Mandatory water use restrictions will be enforced by Notices of Violation and penalties as follows:
- On the first violation, customers will be given a written notice of violation.
- On the second and subsequent violations, citations may be issued to customers, with violations not to exceed $2000 per day.
- After two violations have occurred, the City of Carrollton many install a flow restrictor in the line to limit the amount of water that may pass through the meter in a 24-hour period.
- After three violations have occurred, the city of Carrollton may terminate water service to the customer.
How long does a drought last? Isn’t one good rainstorm enough?
Science has not been able to determine the exact duration or strength of any given drought cycle. In 2011, weather patterns indicated a strong La Nina cycle, which usually indicates higher than normal temperatures combined with lower than normal precipitation (and that's exactly what we got.) Usually, one large rainstorm is not enough to end a drought cycle. The water from the first several rain events is usually soaked up by the dry soil and intercepted by the numerous detention ponds all across the region. One good rain in the City of Carrollton can certainly bring improved soil moisture, cooler temperatures, and a much needed drink for plants and trees, but it does not mean that the supply reservoirs that we depend on will automatically be restored to healthy levels. Drought stages are based on lake levels so when the triggers are met for watering restrictions, the City of Carrollton will communicate to all city water customers the need to increase conservation measures. You can easily check the daily lake level updates here.