The hot and dry month of August is having an impact on Amarillo’s water reservoir.
As part of its 2024 Drought Contingency Plan approved by Amarillo City Council, the City of Amarillo (COA) is asking residents and businesses to follow Stage 1 of the plan, which consists of a voluntary outdoor watering schedule.
According to the resolution, Stage 1 of the plan is implemented when demand or normal operating condition results in a drawdown of the reservoir to at or below approximately 60 percent of its capacity or when total daily water demand equals or exceeds approximately 70 percent of the available water production capability for five consecutive days. The Amarillo reservoir is currently at 60 percent of its storage capacity.
Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan includes voluntary outdoor watering based on odd and even-numbered addresses. Odd-numbered addresses may water on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even-numbered addresses may water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Residents are asked not to water on Saturdays. Residents are asked to water lawns between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and to water lawns no more than three times a week to conserve water.
The last time the City entered Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan was on July 22, 2022. The duration of that event was one week.
“The community really did their part to reduce the demand in 2022. The difference between the 2022 event and the current event is that the 2022 event was based on high demand. This event is based on the level of the reservoir. The City can only fill the reservoir with water purchased from CRMWA. There are no other sources feeding the reservoir. In addition to demand of the water production plant pulling from it, the reservoir is also subject to the heat and wind that increase the rate of evaporation,” said Shannon Tollison, director of Utilities – Regulatory Compliance. “The citizens and businesses in our community absolutely make a difference when they reduce the frequency of irrigation and they proved that in 2022.”
For more information, contact City of Amarillo Communications Manager Dave Henry at (806) 378-5219 or by email at David.Henry@amarillo.gov.