The City of Leander is presently urging locals and businesses to take immediate and stringent measures to conserve water following the shutdown of the city's main water treatment plant. According to a FOX 7 Austin report, the call for conservation comes after an excess of one million gallons was used on December 30, exceeding the established restrictions of Phase 4. This phase is the highest level of the city's Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan, limiting all nonessential water utilization.
Entering Phase 4 was a proactive measure by the city to prepare for the planned upgrades at the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA) water treatment plant, as explained by the Yahoo News report. The upgrades scheduled to begin on January 13 will involve the installation of a 78-inch butterfly valve and are part of a plan designed to eventually expand the city's water treatment capability by an additional 12 million gallons per day, while the smaller Sandy Creek Plant, on which the city will rely during the shutdown, has a reduced capacity of only 9 million gallons per day.
Strict restrictions have been mandated under Phase 4 which includes a prohibition on all forms of outdoor watering, not to exclude even handheld methods, alongside orders to completely disable irrigation systems and actively prevent any nonessential water usage until further notice as "the city started Phase 4 two weeks before the shutdown, so residents have time to get their usage down below 9 MGD," according to FOX 7 Austin.
Enforcement of Phase 4 restrictions involves a tiered penalty system starting with a courtesy warning for first offenders followed by subsequent offenses that may incur a significant $1,000 fine and the potentiality of an emergency water service disconnection as highlighted in the Yahoo News article, residents who observe violations are encouraged to report them to the city's Code Enforcement division for swift action, although the city will endeavor to first communicate the necessity of the Phase 4 measures to those unaware before proceeding with citations.
