The city of Leander has prohibited all outdoor watering beginning on Thursday to conserve water before a pipeline supplying the city's primary source of water from Lake Travis is shut down for repair, officials said.
"We need to get our water usage down before they shut off the pipeline," said Ty Meighan, a city spokesman.
The pipeline that supplies the city with raw water from Lake Travis will be shut down for repairs from Sept. 21-Oct. 4. The water is sent for treatment to the Brushy Creek Water Utility Authority's plant in Round Rock, which also will be closed during the repair.
Leander's water treatment capacity will be reduced by more than 50% from 25 million to 9 million gallons per day while the leak is being repaired, according to a city news release.
"Leander needs to rely on its Sandy Creek water treatment plant, which is a little smaller and a little older," Mayor Christine Delisle said in a video on the city's website. "This means cutting our water usage in half to the level we see in the winter time."
Most of the water used in the city during the summer is used for irrigation purposes, the release said. It said average summer use in Leander is about 18 million to 19 million gallons per day, while the average winter use is 7 million to 8 million gallons per day.
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Leander water customers need to turn off irrigation systems beginning on Thursday and limit other nonessential uses until further notice, the release said. Hand-held watering is also prohibited starting on Thursday in Leander.
"City officials will monitor overall water demand each day in an effort to reduce citywide use to no more than 9 million gallons per day before and during the BCRUA pipeline repair," according to the release.
The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority water treatment plant also serves the cities of Leander, Cedar Park and Round Rock.
The city of Cedar Park, which gets less of its water from the pipeline than Leander does, will have some outdoor water restrictions once repairs begin, according to a Cedar Park news release.
The city of Round Rock will not be affected because it only gets a small portion of its water from the pipeline, said Sarah Bustilloz, a city spokeswoman.
An underwater leak in the pipeline was discovered in early August in a section that had been repaired in 2021. The repair is estimated to cost $1.6 million, said Karen Bondy, the general manager of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority.
"The pipeline is almost 50 feet below water and underwater construction is very labor intensive and time consuming," said Bondy. "Once the repair is complete, it will also take several days to bring the water system back online and start the distribution of treated water."
The pipeline is leaking about 3% of its capacity, or about 1 million gallons per day, Bondy said. "Since the pipeline leak is underwater, the water is being discharged back into the lake where it came from," she said.
To conserve water for Phase 4 restrictions, Leander has turned off irrigation systems at all public parks and city facilities and turned off commercial irrigation systems starting on Thursday, the city's news release said. The city has also stopped accepting and approving pool permit applications and is encouraging the delay of landscape installation or related building activities that may require nonessential water uses.
On Sept. 19, the city of Leander will also close the Lakewood and Bledsoe park splash pads, prohibit all water connections for construction-related activities and delay new water meter installations, according to the release.
Residents are asked to report water violations to the city's Code Enforcement division at bit.ly/3Ddo4da as soon as possible. "The city will attempt to communicate Phase 4 measures with first-time violators before issuing citations," the release said.Customers can go to leandertx.gov/water, as well as city accounts on Facebook and Twitter, foradditional water conservation updates.
Customers also can receive local emergency notifications by registering at WarnCentralTexas.org.
The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority water treatment plant provides about 20% of Cedar Park's total daily water use, according to a city news release.
While the pipeline is being repaired starting on Sept. 21, Cedar Park water customers are prohibited from using irrigation systems or hose-end sprinklers for outdoor watering, the release said. Customers will still allowed to use hand-held hoses.
"The City of Cedar Park has a secure water supply and is confident that indoor use will not be impacted," the release said. The city has a hotline for reporting outdoor water usage violations at (512)401-5308. Violations may also be reported online at cedarparktexas.gov/report-it.