City of Pflugerville moves to Stage 3 water restrictions due to historically low lake levels

Pflugerville lake levels low after pipeline break

Historically low levels at Lake Pflugerville has prompted the city to issue Stage 3 emergency water restrictions.

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas - Pflugerville Mayor Doug Weiss signed a Declaration of Disaster for a water emergency. This is due to an imminent public water supply failure. 

Stage 3 emergency water restrictions have now been issued for the city. 

"We are at risk of running out of water for our citizens if people don't actively conserve. So it is incredibly serious," said Mayor Weiss.

What we know:

With the declaration, city council can now ask for aid from the state and take significant action to address the water shortage. 

The declaration states that "the failure of a pipeline feeding raw water to Lake Pflugerville has resulted in declining lake elevations, which are forecasted to continue dropping."

"City staff is working around the clock to stabilize the situation, but conservation by our community is critical," said Weiss. "If we all reduce water use now, we can help protect our supply and avoid more severe impacts. Every drop counts."

Stage 3 water restrictions

Why you should care:

Stage 3 emergency water restrictions for all city customers began on March 4 at 5 p.m.

This means water use is limited to indoor use only. However, watering foundations are allowed as an exception.

"We need to say that water is limited to indoor use only, so that we can ensure that we continue to have fresh drinking water for everyone in town," Weiss said.

City of Pflugerville water customers are not allowed to: 

• Irrigate lawns, including automatic or manual sprinkler systems or hand watering with a hose and bucket
• Fill previously empty swimming pools
• Wash cars at residences
• Water home or business building foundations
• Run ornamental fountains unless they contain fish or recirculate water
• Install landscaping or grass that requires irrigation during installation
• Wash sidewalks or driveways

Residential customers can use patio misters, but commercial customers cannot. 

Members are also asked not to wash cars during Stage 3 restrictions. However, if you wish, you may use commercial car washes. 

Lake Pflugerville and its fishing piers are closed to recreational usage, which includes boating, swimming, and fishing. 

The trail and playground remain open. 

The city is installing a temporary pipeline to make sure water continues to flow to the lake as it takes on more extensive repairs. 

"The lake was lowered, as I mentioned, for the construction project, which is the perfect time to do that in the fall and winter months. And as we move into March, we expect people will want to turn on their outdoor irrigation systems. We're asking them to hold off on doing that just to keep the outdoor watering off so that we can stabilize those water levels in the lake," Weiss said.

The city is also activating other wells and working with Manville Water Supply Company to help boost the water supply from Lake Pflugerville.

"We do have several wells around town where we can draw water from. We're working with our regional partners who we have water purchase agreements with to take water from some of the surrounding areas to supplement our supplies," Weiss said.

These actions from the city will help slow the rate of decline in the lake level. 

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