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.
“We’ve had multiple days of extreme heat this summer, and we’re definitely seeing the effects on our water system,” said Kent Collins, Director of Public Works. “We have put a plan in place to reduce water consumption on City property, and we’re asking for 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 residents 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 am and 6 pm. 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 would only be able to irrigate on certain days.
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 9 pm – 6 am on 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 Collins. “This would result in an increase in the cost of water to the City, which is funded through customer water bills.”
What you can do to help:
- Do not water between 10 am and 6 pm. Up to 30 percent of the water sprayed on lawns during the heat of the day can be lost to evaporation!
- Water twice a week or less. If you're watering your lawn more than two days a week, you're watering too much.
- Sign up for the MyH2O Customer Portal to more closely monitor your water consumption and adjust your usage accordingly. 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. 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. Sign up for the customer portal at coppelltx.gov/h2o to Get to Know Your H2O!
- Sign up to receive Weekly Watering Advice. The webpage is updated and a newsletter is sent out weekly with watering advice based on our local weather conditions.
- Consider replacing thirsty turf. Grass is great for play spaces, but do we really need so much? Replace those little-used areas of your lawn and common areas with other types of landscaping or water stingy plants.
- Visit waterisawesome.com for other water saving tips.
For more information about your water usage or 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.