Greening Austin Daily

LCRA Warns About Severe Drought this Summer; Some Water Conservation Tips

19th May, 2011 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment

The Statesman had this article today that says that the Lower Colorado River Authority has warned that the current 8 month drought we are in may be the most severe in decades:

“We are very concerned, because this drought looks as if it may be one of the most severe we’ve seen in decades,” LCRA General Manager Tom Mason said. Mason added that the LCRA is following its state-approved water-management plan, which contains earlier triggers for cutting back water for agriculture and requesting voluntary cutbacks from municipal and residential users.

Some water conservation tips included in the article are:

• Water lawns twice a week; sprinkler system cycles should be shortened if water is running into the street.
• Fix broken or misdirected sprinkler heads.
• Don’t run water when brushing teeth or shaving.
• Thaw frozen food in a bowl with hot water, not with running water.
• Repair leaky faucets or running toilets.
• Report water waste — runoff into the street from homes or businesses — by calling 311.

I love the last one- I don’t think I would call in on a neighbor, but this morning I noticed a lot of homes that were having water run off into the streets because their sprinkler systems were either not fully pointing the correct way, or the systems were set to run too long.  I would call in on a business though, and the 311 number is so easy to remember!