Water Conservation Plan

This Water Conservation Plan has been developed to assure the continued supply of water to the City of Georgetown certificated service area through the application of recognized water conservation best management practices. The plan includes the adoption and implementation of certain conservation practices as well as methods for immediate conservation during drought conditions.

The Water Conservation Plan must be adopted by City Council action (resolution or ordinance) and approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The plan must be updated every five years.

Utility Profile

The City of Georgetown water service area includes the City and portions of its ETJ, which encompass approximately 61 square miles of privately owned land and portions of major watersheds that include the San Gabriel River, Berry Creek, Pecan Branch, Smith Branch, and Mankin's Branch. The current service area population is estimated at 44,735; the Georgetown water system currently serves 15,977 meter connections. The remainder of service in the area is provided by one of two water supply corporations or private on-site wells. Georgetown's average daily water pumpage was 7.4 million gallons per day (MGD) in 2004. The peak pumpage for this period was 15.2 MGD. Of the total water pumped during 2004, only water loss due to leakage, hydrant testing, and theft of service was not metered. The percentage of water that is pumped, but lost through leakage, theft of service, metering inaccuracy, and hydrant flushing has averaged 21.33 % annually over the past five years. The most recent water demand study projects average demand for the year 2015 at 17.05 MGD and a peak demand of 36.05 MGD.

The City is currently supplied via three ground water treatment plants and a surface water treatment plant. The groundwater water treatment plants are served by wells that have an average daily capacity of about 9.95 MGD under non-drought conditions. The surface water treatment plant at Lake Georgetown can provide 17.6 MGD with 16.6 MGD dedicated to the City and 1.0 MGD (off-peak) dedicated to Chisholm Trails SUD. The City's total treatment capacity is 26.55 MGD.

The City of Georgetown wastewater system is the primary provider of wastewater treatment in the service area. The balance of the area is served by on-site disposal system (septic systems). The City's five wastewater treatment plants are permitted to discharge an average daily effluent flow of up to 5.74 MGD. The average discharge for 2004 was 3.4 MGD.

The City also operates a reuse irrigation system that utilizes wastewater effluent to provide water for irrigation. The system currently provides effluent from three of its five wastewater treatment plants to six golf courses in the Georgetown area. Effluent irrigation water is also provided to the City's park and school district football field.

Water Conservation Plan

The goals of the program are to reduce water loss and per capita water usage through water conservation best management practices and to provide for a reduction in water usage during times of shortage. Reduction in losses and usage will extend the availability of the existing water supply and infrastructure, resulting in reduced capital and operating costs.

• Water Loss Goal - The City has experienced water loss (expressed as the percentage of the difference between water usage billed and water pumped to the total water pumped) averaging 21% over the past five years. The average water loss for 2004 was 23%. The City will use selected conservation practices to reduce the average water loss to 18% in 2010 and 15% in 2015.
• Per Capital Usage Goal - The average daily customer use of water expressed in gallons per capita per day (gcd) has averaged 160 gcd over the past five years. The City will use selected conservation practices to reduce the per capita usage by 1% per year resulting in rolling five-year per capita usage goals of 155 gcd in 2010 and 147 gcd in 2015.

Program Elements

Metering

• Metering at point of diversion - The City has installed meters at each of its water treatment plants to accurately measure the amount of water diverted from each water source. The meters are accurate to within 5% and are calibrated at least annually.
• Universal Metering - The City requires the metering of all connections to the water system, including residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal use. The City completed the replacement of 98% of all water meters in 1997 and also employed the use of a fixed network automatic meter reading (AMR) system in 2000 that has the ability to automatically read 92% of all water meters in the system. In addition to providing usage information for billing, the system can be used to identify unusual usage patterns and detect meter malfunctions. When an unusual usage pattern or meter malfunction is detected, the meter is then tested and replaced as necessary. The calibration of the AMR to meter interface is checked at least annually to ensure proper system operation.

Water Audit

• The City maintains a record management system that tracks water pumped, delivered, and sold with the ability to determine the amount of water losses. The system allows for the desegregation of sales into residential, commercial, public/institutional, and industrial uses. The City conducts a monthly audit to determine the amount of unaccounted usage. Abandoned meters are pulled.
• The City conducts an annual inspection of 10% of all distribution lines including the service connections to the meter. Therefore, in a 10-year period, the entire system is inspected. The inspection uses ultrasonic equipment to identify leaks not visible on the ground surface. Once identified, the leaks are repaired.

Public Education

• The City of Georgetown promotes water conservation by informing water users about ways to save water inside of homes and other buildings, in landscaping and lawn maintenance, and in recreational uses.
• The City distributes water conservation material annually as a bill stuffer prior to the water conservation rates going into effect. Water Conservation Rates and other conservation-related articles are published at least monthly in the Williamson County Sun during the conservation period.
• The City includes information about water conservation in its annual Water Quality Report. The report is mailed to all customers with a billing address and is also provided to apartment complexes and posted in public locations such as the Library. In addition to discussing water conservation techniques, the water conservation rates are published.
• The City publishes its Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan on its website. The City updates the 5-day landscape irrigation schedule every year to coincide with the City of Austin schedule to take advantage of news media coverage of the watering schedule.

Water Rate Structure

• The City has implemented Residential Water Conservation Rates that provide incentive to conserve water during the peak landscape irrigation season. The increasing block Water Conservation Rates are implemented during the summer season (June through October billings). Water rates during the remainder of the year are single block rates with no incentive for additional usage. The rates are adopted by ordinance (Section 13.04.120) and updated time to time.

Plumbing Code

• The City of Georgetown has recently adopted the 2003 International Plumbing Code for all new construction and all remodeling that requires a plumbing permit. Section 401.3 and Table 604.4 of the code requires water saving plumbing devices and establishes maximum acceptable flow rates for each device.

Water Conservation Landscaping

• The City, through its information and education program, will encourage customers and local landscaping companies to utilize water saving practices during installation of landscaping for residential and commercial institutions. The following methods will be promoted by the education and information program.
• Encourage subdivisions to require drought-resistant grasses and low water use plants.
• Encourage landscape architects to use native, low water use plants and grasses and efficient irrigation systems.
• Encourage licensed irrigation contractors to use drip irrigation systems, when possible, and to design all irrigation systems with conservation features such as sprinklers that emit large drops rather than a fine mist and a sprinkler layout that accommodates prevailing wind patterns.
• Encourage commercial establishments to use drip irrigation for landscape watering, when practical, and to install only ornamental fountains that use minimal quantities of water, including recycling features.
• Encourage local nurseries to offer native, low water use plants and grasses and efficient watering devices.

Recycle and Reuse

• The City of Georgetown owns and operates a Reuse Irrigation Utility that provides wastewater treatment plant effluent and raw water to area golf courses, athletic fields, and the city park. The City is developing an Irrigation Utility Master Plan that will maximize the use of wastewater treatment plant effluent for landscape irrigation.
• The City will maintain non-potable reuse irrigation rates such that an economic incentive exists to use the reuse water instead of potable water.

Coordination with Regional Planning Groups

The service area of the City of Georgetown is located within the Brazos Region (G) and the City of Georgetown has provided a copy of this Plan to the Brazos River Authority.

Implementation and Enforcement

• The staff of the Georgetown Utility Systems Division of the City of Georgetown will administer the Water Conservation Program. They will oversee the execution and implementation of all elements of the program and supervise the keeping of adequate records for program verification.
• The plan will be enforced through the adoption of the Water Conservation Plan by resolution of the City Council of the City of Georgetown and adoption of the Drought Contingency Plan by ordinance of the City Council of the City of Georgetown and in the following manner:
  • Water service taps will not be provided to customers unless they have met the plan requirements.
  • The building inspector will not certify new construction that fails to meet plan requirements.

Contracts with Other Political Subdivisions

The City will, as part of a contract for sale of water to any other political subdivision, require that entity to adopt applicable provisions of the City's water conservation and drought contingency plan or already have a TWDB approved plan in effect. These provisions will be through contractual agreement prior to the sale of water to the political subdivision.

Drought Contingency Plan

The City has adopted a Drought Contingency Plan as Chapter 13.16 of its Code of Ordinances

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