With water levels in area lakes dropping, it's not too early to think about water conservation
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City View by John Terrell, Mayor of Southlake
Right now summer is but a memory, with those scorching hotbrtemperatures several months behind us. brBut before 2012 ended, the City received a reminder from the TarrantbrRegional Water District (TRWD) of what those temperatures, along with minimalbrrain, could cause – Stage 1 restrictions and twice a week watering in thebrmiddle of the winter.
Since summer, levels at lakes Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain,brRichland-Chambers, Cedar Creek, Arlington, and Benbrook have been steadilybrdropping. These lakes are the source forbrthe raw water that the TRWD supplies to its customers, which indirectly includesbrSouthlake. By late December the lakes dippedbrto 77%, just two percentage points shy of the Stage 1 restrictions triggerbrpoint of 75%. The goal of Stage 1brrestrictions, no matter when they are implemented, is to reduce waterbrconsumption by at least 5% over what is normally used. Five-percent doesn't seem like a lot, untilbryou consider that use for the entire TRWD region which covers - more than 30brwholesale customers including the cities of Fort Worth (from whom Southlakebrpurchases its water), Arlington, Mansfield and the Trinity River Authority. Because of recent snows and rains, the lakebrlevels have remained steady, keeping restrictions in check until this month or possiblybreven March. The ever-changing aspects ofbrthis story illustrate all too clearly that the water story in North Texas isbralways changing, and we as a City and a region must be ready to adapt.
I also wanted to touch on another chapter of the North Texasbrwater story. Recently, the U.S. SupremebrCourt agreed to hear the case Tarrant Regional Water District v. HerrmannbrRudolf J. et al. According to the SCOTUSblog.com there are two case issues:br“ (1) Whether Congress’s approval of an interstate water compact (Red River Compact) that grants thebrcontracting states “equal rights” to certain surface water and provides thatbrthe compact shall not “be deemed . . . to interfere” with each state’sbr“appropriation, use, and control of water… and (2) whether a provision of abrcongressionally-approved multi-state compact that is designed to ensure anbrequal share of water among the contracting states preempts protectionist statebrlaws that obstruct other states from accessing the water to which they arebrentitled by the compact.”
The Red River Compact was signed in 1978 by representativesbrfrom Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and the United States. In 1980 it was also ratified by each state,brapproved by Congress and signed by the President; therefore it constituted bothbrstate and federal law. (Source:brTECQ.Texas.gov) Twenty-seven years later, in 2007, the TRWDbrsued the state of Oklahoma to obtain rights to billions of gallons of water. Two lower courts ruled in Oklahoma’sbrfavor. In 2013, the Supreme Court agreedbrto hear the case and its ruling could once again change the conversation aboutbrwater here in North Texas.
I share this with you to emphasize that Southlake and otherbrregional cities are constantly working on improving and solving importantbrservice questions, such as infrastructure, mobility and development. Often they are intertwined and it's importantbrto stay educated about these developments and how they will affect our dailybrlives. I hope you agree that thisbrinformation is worth knowing and sharing with others.
By the way, City of Southlake-Water Conservation offersbrsome great tips on the weekly recommended water levels for your grass, anywherebrfrom zero inches, for the cooler times of year, to one inch for the warmerbrperiods. It also includes suggestedbrwatering times so that your landscape will receive the maximum benefit even ifbrwater restrictions apply.
See you in Southlake. br
John Terrell, VP of Commercial Development for DFW Airport, has spent countless volunteer hours in service to the City of Southlake. He served two terms on City Council prior to being elected Southlake's Mayor in 2009 and again in 2012. Married to wife Joanne and father of two Dragons, the 2012 Southlake Citizen of the Year has called Southlake home for more than fifteen years.