KATY, Texas — The city of Katy moved to Stage Three of its drought contingency plan Friday. This comes after upgrading to Stage Two on Monday.
What does this mean?
Under Stage Three, residents will continue the actions of Stage One and Stage Two as well as mandatory restrictions under Stage 3. The goal is to reduce water usage by 15%, based on the water usage data over the past 12 months, the city said.
The city said the mayor can set a goal to reduce water usage even further if circumstances call for it and any of the following actions:
- Prohibit hosing of paved areas, buildings, windows, and any hard-surfaced areas.
- Prohibit operation of ornamental fountains.
- Prohibit washing or rinsing of vehicles by hose.
- Prohibit using water in such a manner as to allow runoff or other waste.
- Limit landscape watering at each service address to twice per week between the hours of 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. (based on the last digit of your address).
- Prohibit draining and filling of existing pools and filling of new pools. (Pools may add water to replace losses during normal use.)
- Prohibit establishment of new landscaping.
Katy watering schedule
- If your address ends in an even number, your watering days are Sunday and Thursday.
- If your address ends in an odd number, your watering days are Saturday and Wednesday.
- Commercial/HOA/Greenspace/Right-of-way properties' watering days are Tuesday and Friday.
- There is no watering on Monday, which is the designated storage recovery day.
What happens if I don’t conserve?
Under Stage Three, those who do not abide by the watering schedule could face a fine of up to $2,000.
Enforcement procedures:
- On the first violation, customers will be given a written warning that they have violated the mandatory restrictions.
- On the second and subsequent violations, citations may be issued to customers with fines not less than $100 and not to exceed $2,000 per incident. The city may cut off water service to the customer, subject to appeal.
RELATED: What is drought and what causes it?
If your water service is cut off due to a Stage Three drought violation, you may appeal in writing to have your water service turned back on, according to the city.
Though we had heavy rainfall across the area Friday, it is not enough to recover from drought conditions. Over the next month, our area would need about 12 to 18 inches of rain to see the drought disappear.