City Council adopts revised water, drought plan
Wichita Falls City councilors on Tuesday adopted a new water conservation and drought contingency plans ordinance.
The change means residential customers may allow water from yard irrigation to flow 100 yards from the source rather than 50 yards.
The adopted plan also addresses drought restrictions on raw-water wholesale industrial customers at Lake Kemp. The measure would require the customer to reduce usage by 10 percent if the lake falls to 50 percent of capacity, 25 percent at 40 percent capacity and 50 percent at 30 percent capacity.
The customer would have to halt water use if Lake Kemp drops to 20 percent.
The water plan includes a lengthy discussion of the city’s water needs in the future, describing a dozen possible new sources, including obtaining groundwater from other locations and taking more water from Lake Kemp.
The document concluded there are no feasible alternatives to building a new reservoir, Lake Ringgold, in Clay County. That $440-million project awaits approval by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
In other business, councilors:
Awarded about $2.32 million to Freeman Paving LLC for the 2024 Asphalt Rehabilitation Project
Accepted a $138,272 grant from the state for HIV prevention
Accepted $124, 416 from the state for public health preparedness
Councilors now meet in the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall at MPEC while city offices undergo a two-year renovation.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: City Council adopts revised water, drought plan
