With extremely high temperatures and almost no rainfall, the City of Coppell has seen an increased demand on the municipal water system over the last few days. Because water usage is extremely high, the City is requesting that residents and businesses alike voluntarily take necessary conservation measures to avoid potential restrictions and future price increases. The City asks that utility customers aim to reduce water consumption by 30 percent.
“We’re definitely seeing the effects of the triple-digit temperatures on our water system,” said Mike Garza, Director of Public Works. “We’ve implemented a plan to reduce water consumption on City property, and we need the community’s help as well. Please do your part and join us in protecting our water supply to avoid mandatory water restrictions.”
The City is currently in Stage 1 of its Water Conservation Plan, and utility customers are asked to ensure their irrigation systems are working properly and to not water outside (except with non-spray irrigation systems or hand watering) between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. If water usage continues to trend upward, it may be necessary for the City to institute day-of-the-week watering restrictions in accordance with the City’s Drought Contingency Plan, meaning residents and businesses would only be able to irrigate on certain days. The City’s Drought Contingency Plan can be found in Section 3-1-12 of the Code of Ordinances.
The City has announced that it will limit the usage of irrigation systems throughout its parks and City-owned facilities. Watering times for each watering zone on various medians and in parks will be limited to certain days. Residents may see additional watering at Rolling Oaks Memorial Cemetery and Wagon Wheel Park, as these areas are irrigated with well water.
“If the daily demand for water continues to increase and exceeds our contractual supply (18.5 Million Gallons per Day), we would be required to negotiate an increase in supply from Dallas Water Utilities, our water supplier,” said Garza. “This would result in an increase in the cost of water to the City, which is funded through customer water bills.”
Utility customers in Coppell are given the tools and data needed to control their water usage and, therefore, the amount of the water portion of their bill. Customers are encouraged to sign up for the MyH2O portal to more closely monitor their water consumption and adjust their usage accordingly. Through the portal, you can monitor water usage, set water budget and water consumption threshold alerts, view comparative data, set leak alerts, and opt-in to notifications. Consumption data is updated multiple times throughout the day on an internet-based customer dashboard that can be accessed from a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Learn more about the customer portal and how to Get to Know Your H2O at coppelltx.gov/h2o.
Utility customers are also encouraged to practice a variety of other water-saving techniques found at waterisawesome.com.
For more information about the Get to Know Your H2O customer portal, visit coppelltx.gov/h2o or contact Utility Billing at 972-304-3695. For more information about water usage, call the Public Works Department at 972-304-3679.