After pipeline repair in Leander, water conservation returns to Phase 2

LEANDER, Texas - The City of Leander says it has returned to Phase 2 water conservation after the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority contractor completed the repair of the 36-inch underwater raw water pipeline inLake Travis.

Phase 2 allows for once-a-week irrigation before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on designated watering days determined by customer street addresses. Hand-held watering is allowed at any time.

Irrigation day is based on the ending RESIDENTIAL street address number:

1, 5, or 9 – FRIDAY
2, 4, 6, or 8 – WEDNESDAY
0, 3, or 7 – SUNDAY

Irrigation day is based on the ending COMMERCIAL street address number:

1, 5, or 9 – TUESDAY
2, 4, 6, or 8 – SATURDAY
0, 3, or 7 – THURSDAY

The city says it will also resume water connections for construction activities, new water meter installations, and approval of pool permits.

In addition, the splash pads at Lakewood and Bledsoe parks will reopen Friday, Oct. 7, and remain open through Sunday, Oct. 30, when they will close for the season.

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Conservation measures prohibit all outdoor watering, and Leander water customers are asked to turn off irrigation systems completely and limit other nonessential uses until further notice.

During ongoing underwater inspections by the BCRUA on Aug. 8, contractors discovered a new leak in the section of the pipeline previously repaired in 2021. The pipeline supplies raw water
from Lake Travis into the BCRUA water treatment facility, which is Leander's primary source for treated drinking water.

The BCRUA facility was taken out of service on Sept. 21 in order to conduct major repairs to the plant's 36-inch raw water pipeline. While summer water use has averaged 18 million gallons a day (MGD) citywide, capacity at the city's Sandy Creek Water Treatment Plant has been limited to 9 MGD. Usage that exceeded its capacity could have severely limited or disabled the city’s water
system.

Leading up to the repair, city officials set a target water use of no more than 9 MGD to ensure the Sandy Creek plant could safely manage water treatment throughout the city. Leander water customers responded by averaging 7.2 MGD prior to and during pipeline repairs.