Outrageous - Stage 3 Rest. with Lavon Lake water release

[JCH]

I think it is really outrageous to continue with Stage 3 watering restrictions when a lot of water is being released from Lavon Lake.
The water level in Lavon Lake was around 495.9 feet when the release started shortly before midnight June 8. The rate of dumping has been around 5000 cubic feet per second. Now the level, as of 10:00 AM on June 11 is 494.6 feet. There has been 1.3 feet of water dumped so far.

[Bob]

JCH wrote:

I think it is really outrageous to continue with Stage 3 watering restrictions when a lot of water is being released from Lavon Lake.
The water level in Lavon Lake was around 495.9 feet when the release started shortly before midnight June 8. The rate of dumping has been around 5000 cubic feet per second. Now the level, as of 10:00 AM on June 11 is 494.6 feet. There has been 1.3 feet of water dumped so far.

NTMWD is supplied by Lavon lake and Cooper lake (just north of Sulphur Springs). Yes, Lavon is full but Cooper is still 6.5 feet low. First priority of Lavon is flood control, thus we cannont just hold on to excess water to fill our pools, therefore it must be let out. It's too bad we can't just send the water back up to Cooper.

[JCH]

I agree with some watering restrictions such as twice a week at certain times. However, we should be able to wash our cars once a week with hoses in such a way we do not waste water. However imposing a total stage 3 watering restriction is a bit extreme for the times here. Perhaps there needs to be a manditory restriction somewhere between stage 2 and stage 3 with the following conditions:
1. Watering permitted twice a week from 6:00 PM to 9:00 AM
2. Washing of cars with a hose once a week permitted as long as the water is not on unless one is spraying the car.
3. Permit ornamental fountains to operate with treated water.
4. Allow pools to be refilled by permit basis.

[JCH]

Maybe what needs to be done after the work is done to recyle water from the outlet of Lake Ray Hubbard to Lavon Lake would be to enhance the water distribution systems to that water could be pumped from Lavon Lake to Cooper Lake. Also there needs to be the ability to reverse flow between Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Tawakoni.

[Bill]

I have learned a lot from the watering restrictions and will continue to observe them reagrdless of whether or not the Stage 3 controls are lifted. We do waste a great deal of water and collectively need to change our ways. However, we did not wash our pool deck for two years to conserve water. With 5000+cf/ft/sec being released from Lavon I feel I can hose down whatever I wish be it decks, cars, the front porch or the driveway. Instead of releasing all that water downstream, why don't they tell everyone served by Lavon we have a "free week" to take care of items many of us have put off for many months. The water is leaving the lake anyway, what's the difference?

[NTMWD]

I agree - see http://www.ntmwd.info (North Texas Messed-up Water Distribution). By the NTMWD guidelines, we should now be in Stage 1 - almost out of any drought stage (if Lake Jim Chapman were to rise anothe 1/2 foot.

JCH wrote:

I think it is really outrageous to continue with Stage 3 watering restrictions when a lot of water is being released from Lavon Lake.
The water level in Lavon Lake was around 495.9 feet when the release started shortly before midnight June 8. The rate of dumping has been around 5000 cubic feet per second. Now the level, as of 10:00 AM on June 11 is 494.6 feet. There has been 1.3 feet of water dumped so far.

[JCH]

One must wonder what goes through the heads of the NTMWD officials - the daily release from Lavon Lake is 15 times of the average daily water consumption of the top 10 municipalities serviced by NTMWD during August 2006 to April 2007.

Water being released from Lavon Lake is roughly 5000 cubic feet/second, which is 37,400 gallons/second.

Over a 24 hour period (one day) the water released is 3.23 billion gallons!

From roughly August 2006 to April 2007 the daily consumption is 0.21 billion gallons for the top 10 consuming cities as detailed below.

The following is an excerpt from the website http://www.planostar.com/articles/2007/06/05/...

NTMWD’s Top Ten Water Consumers from August 2006 to April 2007 (approximate)

1. Plano: 14.6 billion gallons
2. Garland: 8.7 billion gallons
3. Richardson: 6.1 billion gallons
4. McKinney: 5.3 billion gallons
5. Frisco: 4.9 billion gallons
6. Mesquite: 4.3 billion gallons
7. Allen: 3.1 billion gallons
8. Rockwall: 1.8 billion gallons
9. Wylie: 1.1 billion gallons
10. Forney: 0.8 billion gallons

(end article excerpt)

What we have is a total of 50.7 billion gallons over about an 8 month period or 240 days. Divide 50.7 billion by 240 and the daily consumption is 0.21 billion gallons.

[David in Plano]

For what its worth, I am posting the comments I got back from an email sent a few weeks back about the dumping of water out of Lake Lavon. My email is first here with the response from Denise at NTMWD in the next posting. I had to separate it because it was too long to post as one entry.
----

Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 3:33 PM
To: Denise Hickey
Subject: Plano Water Restrictions

Please forward on to those in charge of water decisions. Thank you.
----------

In light of the recent rains and the fact that they are releasing over 4000 Cubic Feet per Second from Lake Lavon and the recent increase in lake levels for Jim Chapman, when are we going to lift the watering restrictions?
Instead of releasing the water out the gates of Lavon, why not reverse the pumps and push it back to Lake Jim Chapmann?
The memo of My 10th, 2007 now looks like dated information.
http://www.ntmwd.com/downloads/Microsoft%20Wo...
l%20Release-5-10%20_EMI-NTMWD% 20FINAL_.pdf

**********
Please consider lifting the watering restrictions of our local cities.
**********

[David in Plano]

Denise's response:
----
Mr.(David in Plano),
I will address your concerns separately.
Release for Lavon:
North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) utilizes three reservoirs for water supplies: Lavon Lake, Jim Chapman Lake and Lake Texoma. Each of these reservoirs are owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
NTMWD has obtained water rights from the State of Texas to utilize the stored water supply in each of the reservoirs for treatment and delivery to the region served.
NTMWD has water rights in Lavon Lake from the elevation of 492 feet msl (mean sea level) to 453 msl, which is considered the conservation pool.
The USACE has rights to the water above 492' msl, which is considered the flood pool. The USACE can only release water from Lavon Lake once the elevation has risen above 492' msl. Any release is determined by the USACE based on downstream flows as to ensure that Lavon Lake has the appropriate storage available for inflows from rain events.
The water stored or released from the USACE from the flood pool is not a water right of the NTMWD for use. It is a water right for other water providers in the State of Texas downstream from Lavon.
Reverse flow to Cooper:
As stated above, the water stored in the flood pool in not a water rights permit for use by the NTMWD, the release belongs to another downstream water provider in the State Of Texas. In addition, the piping and pumps are not designed for moving water from Lavon to Chapman and cannot be done with the current infrastructure.
Continuation of Stage 3:
NTMWD does monitor closely the elevations of each of the reservoirs and the water supply capacity available during these drought conditions. As a result of the recent rain events, the elevations have responded in a positive manner. However, the drought is not considered "over" until the three reservoirs utilized return to their normal elevations.
Chapman/Cooper was last full on April 9, 2003 - over 4 years ago. The 4 year period establishes a new "drought of record" for Chapman/Cooper Lake and since it has not refilled, the drought continues to surpass the previous drought of record.
North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) has in place a Drought Contingency Plan and has adopted Model Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans for the Member Cities and Customers. These Plans address strategies for both water conservation and drought conditions.
The purpose of the Model Drought Plan is to conserve the water supply in times of drought; maintain supplies for domestic water use, sanitation and fire protection; protect and preserve public health, welfare, and safety; minimize the adverse affects of water supply shortages; and to minimize the adverse impacts of emergency water supply conditions.
NTMWD will remain in Stage 3 of the Drought Contingency Plan and will re-evaluate in July.
Several of the NTMWD Member Cities and Customers are providing some flexibility with a change to twice per week water schedules with reduced hours allowed for watering. Please check with your community if any changes are being evaluated. Even with the flexibility of the two water management strategies listed above, the city must still meet its 5% percent water use reduction goal for Stage 3.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact me by email or by phone at 97Two.44Two.54O5.
Denise Hickey
Public Relations Coordinator

[David in Plano]

For what its worth, I am posting the comments I got back from an email sent a few weeks back about the dumping of water out of Lake Lavon. Here is my email with the response from Denise at NTMWD above. I had to separate it because it was too long to post as one entry.

Of course, it posted in the wrong order...sorry.

Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 3:33 PM
To: Denise Hickey
Subject: Plano Water Restrictions
Please forward on to those in charge of water decisions. Thank you.
----------
In light of the recent rains and the fact that they are releasing over 4000 Cubic Feet per Second from Lake Lavon and the recent increase in lake levels for Jim Chapman, when are we going to lift the watering restrictions?
Instead of releasing the water out the gates of Lavon, why not reverse the pumps and push it back to Lake Jim Chapmann?
The memo of My 10th, 2007 now looks like dated information.
http://www.ntmwd.com/downloads/Microsoft%20Wo...
l%20Release-5-10%20_EMI-NTMWD% 20FINAL_.pdf

**********
Please consider lifting the watering restrictions of our local cities.
**********

[David in Plano]

Mr.(David in Plano),
I will address your concerns separately.
Release for Lavon:
North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) utilizes three reservoirs for water supplies: Lavon Lake, Jim Chapman Lake and Lake Texoma. Each of these reservoirs are owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
NTMWD has obtained water rights from the State of Texas to utilize the stored water supply in each of the reservoirs for treatment and delivery to the region served.
NTMWD has water rights in Lavon Lake from the elevation of 492 feet msl (mean sea level) to 453 msl, which is considered the conservation pool.
The USACE has rights to the water above 492' msl, which is considered the flood pool. The USACE can only release water from Lavon Lake once the elevation has risen above 492' msl. Any release is determined by the USACE based on downstream flows as to ensure that Lavon Lake has the appropriate storage available for inflows from rain events.
The water stored or released from the USACE from the flood pool is not a water right of the NTMWD for use. It is a water right for other water providers in the State of Texas downstream from Lavon.
Reverse flow to Cooper:
As stated above, the water stored in the flood pool in not a water rights permit for use by the NTMWD, the release belongs to another downstream water provider in the State Of Texas. In addition, the piping and pumps are not designed for moving water from Lavon to Chapman and cannot be done with the current infrastructure.
Continuation of Stage 3:
NTMWD does monitor closely the elevations of each of the reservoirs and the water supply capacity available during these drought conditions. As a result of the recent rain events, the elevations have responded in a positive manner. However, the drought is not considered "over" until the three reservoirs utilized return to their normal elevations.
Chapman/Cooper was last full on April 9, 2003 - over 4 years ago. The 4 year period establishes a new "drought of record" for Chapman/Cooper Lake and since it has not refilled, the drought continues to surpass the previous drought of record.
North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) has in place a Drought Contingency Plan and has adopted Model Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans for the Member Cities and Customers. These Plans address strategies for both water conservation and drought conditions.
The purpose of the Model Drought Plan is to conserve the water supply in times of drought; maintain supplies for domestic water use, sanitation and fire protection; protect and preserve public health, welfare, and safety; minimize the adverse affects of water supply shortages; and to minimize the adverse impacts of emergency water supply conditions.
NTMWD will remain in Stage 3 of the Drought Contingency Plan and will re-evaluate in July.
Several of the NTMWD Member Cities and Customers are providing some flexibility with a change to twice per week water schedules with reduced hours allowed for watering. Please check with your community if any changes are being evaluated. Even with the flexibility of the two water management strategies listed above, the city must still meet its 5% percent water use reduction goal for Stage 3.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact me by email or by phone at 97Two.44Two.54O5.
Denise Hickey
Public Relations Coordinator

[David in Plano]

For what its worth, I am posting the comments I got back from an email sent a few weeks back about the dumping of water out of Lake Lavon. My email is first here with the response from Denise at NTMWD in the next posting. I had to separate it because it was too long to post as one entry.

Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 3:33 PM
To: Denise Hickey
Subject: Plano Water Restrictions
Please forward on to those in charge of water decisions. Thank you.
----------
In light of the recent rains and the fact that they are releasing over 4000 Cubic Feet per Second from Lake Lavon and the recent increase in lake levels for Jim Chapman, when are we going to lift the watering restrictions?
Instead of releasing the water out the gates of Lavon, why not reverse the pumps and push it back to Lake Jim Chapmann?
The memo of My 10th, 2007 now looks like dated information.
http://www.ntmwd.com/downloads/Microsoft%20Wo...
l%20Release-5-10%20_EMI-NTMWD% 20FINAL_.pdf

**********
Please consider lifting the watering restrictions of our local cities.
**********

[David in Plano]

Sorry for the multiple postings. It looked like it was overlaying the message each time. I cannot see how to delete any of them either.

[JCH]

With the record amount of rain far fewer people are watering their yards. It would stand to reason the water demand would be a lot less this year than it was at this time last year when people had to water their yards.

Also, as I understand things, NTMWD takes water out of Lavon Lake and Jim Chapman Lake has been used to bring up the level of Lavon Lake. Of course recently no water had to be taken out of Chapman Lake to bring up the level of Lavon Lake.

There really needs to be a rule change now since there is much more than enough water for customers that draw their water from Lavon Lake. As far as the flood pool being used for downstream reservoirs I'm sure there is MUCH more water available than what the downstream reservoirs can use.

[JCH]

I just took a look at Lake Ray Hubbard's water release (2007-6/28 11:50). Lake Ray Hubbard is immediately downstream from Lavon Lake. Water is being released from Lake Ray Hubbard at 7500 cubic feet per second, while Lavon Lake has not been releasing water lately. To say that water in the flood pool in Lavon Lake is needed for downstream reservoirs under the current conditions is a bunch of double talk.

[Jeanie]

Who cares what level the lake is at? Who cares if there are still water restrictions?

It rains every day here. Are you planning on watering your lawn anyway?

[David in Plano]

Using Google Earth, I tracked the river flow from Lake Ray Hubbard thinking that it filled up some downstream lake somewhere...but I could not find one. Water leaving Ray Hubbard empties to the gulf of mexico.

I think they are more prone to flooding since the homes on that lake are so near the water elevation of 435'. When it gets above that level, they release it out the dam in a hurry. I suspect Lavon's gates are set to 0 because they can't get Ray Hubbard emptied fast enough to handle the flow if Lavon did release right now.

[schlabotnik]

Jeanie wrote:

Who cares what level the lake is at? Who cares if there are still water restrictions?
It rains every day here. Are you planning on watering your lawn anyway?

Today, no. Next week, maybe yes. Rather than waiting for a hue and cry from the public, maybe the water control district could be PROACTIVE (and look like they're paying attention) by setting the restrictions down a notch or two. They waited too long to make them stricter and now they're waiting too long again.

[FMW]

As of today, Lake Lavon is a staggering 4.65' ABOVE normal. Lake Texoma is 3.5' ABOVE normal. Lake Jim Chapman is 2.79' below normal and still filling from recent rains. Per the North Texas Municipal Water Supply contingency plan we should not even be in stage 1:
Stage 1- at least one of the 3 lakes is 8' below normal
Stage 2- at least one of the 3 lakes is 11' below normal
Stage 3- at least one of the 3 lakes is 14' below normal
Plus we're nearly to July and no one has needed to water in June at all, so consumption will be way down. It's time to end the restrictions!
And while I'm venting, why in the world can I not wash my car in my driveway, but I can wash it at a car wash down the street? The car wash wastes MUCH more water than bucket-washing in my drive does, and contrary to popular belief most Texas car washes do not recapture water.

[JCH]

Ah, FMW,

I think you are onto something. There just might be some money under the table (or some other political favors) to influence His Excellency James M. Parks (Executive Director of NTWMD) to continue Stage 3 drought restrictions.

In addition to favors for car washes cities can assess additional fees for water consumption over a certain amount. Also remember there is money for cities to issue fines and impose reconnection fees when cities discontinue water service for watering violations.