The City of San Marcos will implement Stage 3 water restrictions effective Monday August 20 at noon as the aquifer on which two million people depend on continues its rapid decline.

 On Thursday, August 16, the San Antonio index well stood at 637.8 feet above mean sea level with a 10 day average of 639.3 feet. Under rules of the Edwards Aquifer Authority and the City of San Marcos, Stage 3 is triggered when the 10 day rolling average at the San Antonio index well falls below 640 feet above mean sea level.

  In Stage 3, the San Marcos ordinance allows:

• ·       Lawn sprinklers and sprinkler systems to be used only once every other week on a designated weekday between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. and midnight.
• ·        Hand watering is allowed any day before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
• ·       Soaker hoses and drip irrigation are allowed once a week on the designated weekday before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m.

 The schedule for use of sprinklers is as follows:

August 20-24:             Sprinklers allowed one day per week.

August 27-31:             No sprinklers.

September 3-7:            Sprinklers allowed one day per week.

September 10-14:        No sprinklers. 

 Sprinklers are prohibited on Saturdays and Sundays during all stages of drought restrictions.

 Stage 3 also prohibits at-home car washing, filling swimming pools, using decorative water features and washing paved surfaces.  Waste of water is prohibited it all times.

 The EAA requires permit holders in the San Antonio aquifer region to reduce pumping by 35% in Stage 3. Pumping reductions are aimed at stabilizing aquifer and springflow levels until rain replenishes the aquifer.

 “With aquifer conditions worsening and no relief in sight, we have to increase our efforts to conserve water and comply with required cutbacks in water use,” said Tom Taggart, Director of Public Services. “We do understand the hardship this imposes on our customers and ask their help in relieving the pressure on our water resources, both surface and groundwater.  We ask all our residents to share this burden.”

 San Marcos first adopted a water conservation ordinance in 1984 when the aquifer fell to 637 feet above mean sea level. The lowest recorded level of the Edwards was 612 feet during the drought of the 1950s when Comal Springs in New Braunfels went dry from June-November of 1956.

 San Marcos has been under drought restrictions almost continuously since April 2011, with a brief break this spring. This year, the City implemented Stage 1 on April 23 and Stage 2 on May 7, 2012.

 The City of San Marcos receives 80% of its water supply from surface water from Canyon Lake and 20% from the aquifer.        

 The City’s drought response plan is available on the City of San Marcos website at www.sanmarcostx.gov/drought .  For more information please contact Jan Klein, Conservation Coordinator, at 512.393.8310.  To report violations, please call the Water Conservation Hotline at 393.8360.

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