City of Leander reminding residents, businesses to conserve water during Phase 4

LEANDER, Texas - Residents and businesses in Leander are being reminded to conserve water while the city's main water treatment plant is shut down.

The city says that on Dec. 30, the first day of Stage 4 restrictions, residents and businesses used about a million gallons of water more than they should have. 

In social media posts, the city showed that more than 10 million gallons of water were used on Monday. However, during Phase 4 water conservation, daily usage should be below nine million gallons a day or MGD.

Phase 4 is the most restrictive water conservation measure under the city's Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan. Under Phase 4, residents and businesses are expected to strictly limit all nonessential water usage.

Why is Leander under Phase 4?

The city says the restrictions are to support the planned BCRUA upgrades and shutdown.

The planned upgrades are scheduled to start January 13 and the BCRUA water treatment plant is expected to be offline for approximately one week.

However, while the plant is being upgraded, the city will be relying solely on the smaller city-owned Sandy Creek Water Treatment Plant, which reduces the city's water treatment capacity from 25 MGD to just 9 MGD.

Because of this, the city started Phase 4 two weeks before the shutdown, so residents have time to get their usage down below 9 MGD. This will help the city avoid low water pressure, boil water notices and water outages.

The plant upgrade is expected to be complete by the third week of January, at which time the city will return to Phase 2 water conservation.

What will BCRUA be doing?

Starting on Jan. 13, contractors will shut down the plant and start installing a 78-inch butterfly valve to the existing raw water pipeline at the end of Trails End Road.

This pipeline carries raw water from Lake Travis to the plant to be processed, thus the need for the shutdown. 

Once this valve is installed, the connection from the Phase 2 Deep Water Intake can be made later to allow for the underground tunnel line to supply the raw water to the plant.

The city says this upgrade will allow for future plant expansion to provide Leander with an additional 12 MGD of water treatment capacity.

What is restricted under Phase 4?

Phase 4 water conservation prohibits all outdoor watering, including handheld.

Leander water customers are asked to turn off irrigation systems completely and limit other nonessential uses as much as possible now until further notice. 

Use of potable water from the City's water system to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools, wading pools, ornamental ponds, Jacuzzi-type pools, or similar during Phase 4 conservation is also prohibited.

Customers are also advised to check faucets, pipes, and appliances for potential water leaks and contact a licensed plumber to repair them immediately.

Everyday water uses like drinking, bathing, and washing clothes and dishes will still be allowed.

How will Phase 4 be enforced?

Violations during Phase 4 conservation can be enforced through warnings, fines and even having water service disconnected.

Residential and commercial penalties for violating Phase 4 include:

• First offense – Courtesy warning
• Second and subsequent offense – $1,000 fine and potential emergency disconnection of water

Residents are advised to report water violations to the city's Code Enforcement division as soon as possible. The city says it will attempt to communicate Phase 4 measures with first-time violators before issuing citations.