AWWA ACE65333

New development is booming in Central Texas. This is an area with frequent droughtconditions, a limited water supply, and challenging landscape conditions. Currently,more than 60 percent of residential water goes to landscapes during the summer months.It is estimated that 80 percent of new homes will have irrigation systems.The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) owns and operates 21 water systems inCentral Texas. In addition, LCRA provides raw water to about 50 water districts andcommunities, more than 50 golf course and other irrigation customers, more than a dozenlarge industrial customers and electrical power plants and three agricultural irrigationdistricts in the lower Colorado River basin. The City of Austin is the largest municipaluser of water from the Colorado River and has its own municipal water right.LCRA uses a combination of regulation and education to promote outdoor waterconservation with retail and wholesale water customers. Previous conservation efforts,based solely on education and requests for voluntary adoption of landscape conservationmeasures in new development, were largely unsuccessful. Now, in unincorporatedportions of the LCRA water utility service area, landscape Best Management Practices(BMP's) in deed restrictions and restrictive covenants are used to promote conservation.Cities that receive water from LCRA are beginning to adopt landscape BMP's into localordinances. With the combination of regulation and education, area builders arebeginning to install new landscapes with the potential to use water more efficiently. Includes appendix.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

06/01/2007

Number of Pages:

35

File Size:

1 file , 1.2 MB