From 1996 to 2000, the potential for water rationing existed in Austin, Texas, due to the rapidly increasing system demand in summer months approaching the capacity of the water plants to produce treated water. While the City's Water and Wastewater Utility had taken the necessary steps to increase water production capacity, it was a race to get the Ullrich pipeline completed that would boost system capacity before increasing demand by customers reached the capacity of the system. Prior to the summer of 2000, the projected completion date of the Ullrich pipeline was moved from May 2000 until late September 2000. In order to prepare for a situation where water had to be rationed, in 1999, the City updated its drought contingency plan and convened an interdepartmental working group that met regularly to develop procedures for implementing water rationing. While intensive public awareness efforts staved off water rationing for four summers, 1996-99, above normal temperatures and low rainfall combined with a continuous boom in development led to demand approaching available supply. In July 2000, Stage 2 restrictions were implemented and lasted for 69 days. The plans and the procedures developed by the interdepartmental working group led to a relatively smooth transition when restrictions were enacted. The restrictions were effective in dropping demand and then maintaining demand at a "safe" level that allowed sufficient capacity to be kept in reserve for fire and other emergencies. Includes figure.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 260 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 8 |
| Published : | 06/01/2001 |
