Cedar Park returns to Stage 2, two days of outdoor watering a week

Cedar Park loosens water restrictions

Rising lake levels are allowing city leaders in Cedar Park to loosen restrictions on outdoor watering.

CEDAR PARK, Texas - The City of Cedar Park says it will be returning to Stage 2 of its water conservation plan.

Residents will now be able to water outdoors two days a week, thanks to recent rains boosting the combined water storage of Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis.

Combined storage increased to more than 1.11 million acre-feet, or about 56% of capacity, up from about 846,000 acre-feet, or 42% of capacity, on May 1, triggering LCRA's return to Stage 1.

City water customers are still encouraged to use water wisely. If the combined lake levels fall below 900,000 acre-feet, additional water conservation measures will be required, including a possible return to Stage 3 and one-day-per-week outdoor watering.

Rain makes dent in ongoing drought

Last month's rainfall made a big dent in our ongoing drought in Central Texas. As a result, officials with the Lower Colorado River Authority are easing water restrictions in our area.

Effective immediately, the city's outdoor watering schedule is:

New Residential Outdoor Watering Schedule:

Odd addresses water on Wednesdays and/or Saturdays
Even addresses water on Thursdays and/or Sundays

New Commercial Outdoor Watering Schedule:

All commercial addresses (including apartments and HOA-managed property addresses) water on Tuesdays and/or Fridays

City water customers may water no more than two days per week before 10 a.m. and/or after 7 p.m. on their designated watering days. All customers with an automatic irrigation system should program it according to the newly designated two-day-per-week schedule and watering times.

More information, including answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and helpful videos on programming automatic irrigation systems, can be found here. City water customers can click here and sign up to see their usage in near-real-time, set thresholds, and set alerts.

The city says it will also be suspending the 9% temporary water conservation rate adjustment on city water bills. This change will be reflected on utility bills starting June 24 for the prior month's water usage.

The city is also updating its Drought Contingency Plan for City Council consideration during June, after LCRA updated its own plan this past April.