(A) The Manager, or his or her designee, shall monitor water supply and/or demand conditions on a daily basis and shall determine when conditions warrant initiation or termination of each stage of the Plan. Public notification of the initiation or termination of drought response stages shall be by means of televised notices and press releases.
(B) The triggering criteria described below are based on a statistical analysis of the vulnerability of the water source under drought of record conditions.
(1) Stage 1: mild water shortage conditions.
(a) Requirements for initiation. Customers shall be requested to voluntarily conserve water and adhere to the prescribed restrictions on certain water uses, as defined in § 52.42, if one or more of the following conditions exist:
1. Total daily water demand equals or exceeds 85% of safe system capacity or 14.02 mgd (million gallons per day) for three consecutive days;
2. The levels in Lake Bob Sandlin are declining at a rate that could disrupt the water supply in the future.
(b) Requirements for termination. Stage 1 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 14 consecutive days.
(2) Stage 2: moderate water shortage conditions.
(a) Requirements for initiation. Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses provided in § 52.42, if one or more of the following conditions exist:
1. Total daily water demand equals or exceeds 90% of the safe system capacity or 14.85 mgd for three consecutive days;
2. System demands cause ground and/or elevated water storage levels to fall daily and recover completely only during the overnight low demand periods; or
3. Lake Bob Sandlin levels continue declining at a rate that makes water supply problems imminent although the supply is still currently adequate.
(b) Requirements for termination. Stage 2 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of seven consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 2, Stage 1 becomes operative.
(3) Stage 3: severe water shortage conditions.
(a) Requirements for initiation. Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses provided in § 52.42, if one or more of the following conditions exist:
1. Total daily water demand equals or exceeds 95% of the safe system capacity or 15.675 mgd for seven consecutive days;
2. Failure of a raw water or high service pumping unit could cause disruption of service; or
3. Ground and/or elevated storage levels no longer achieve full recovery even in low demand periods;
(b) Requirements for termination. Stage 3 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of seven consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 3, Stage 2 becomes operative.
(4) Stage 4: critical water shortage conditions.
(a) Requirements for initiation. Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses provided in § 52.42, if one or more of the following conditions exist:
1. Total daily water demand equals 100% of the safe system capacity or 16.50 mgd for one day;
2. Water demand exceeds the safe limits of the system;
3. Water levels in the elevated storage reservoirs cannot be maintained to insure adequate fire protection; or
4. Lake Bob Sandlin levels continue to decline at a rate that could cause complete failure of the pumping equipment.
(b) Requirements for termination. Stage 4 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of three consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 4, Stage 3 becomes operative.
(5) Stage 5: emergency water shortage conditions.
(a) Requirements for initiation. Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions for Stage 5 of this Plan when the Manager, or his or her designee, determines that a water supply emergency exists based on one or more of the following conditions:
1. A major water line breaks or a pump or system failure occurs which causes unprecedented loss of capability to provide water service;
2. Natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source(s); or
3. System storage levels and pressures prevent fire protection.
(b) Requirements for termination. Stage 5 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 24 consecutive hours (one day).
(Ord. 2001-3, passed 4-17-01; Am. Ord. 2009-4, passed 4-7-09; Am. Ord. 2014-1, passed 3-17-14; Am. Ord. 2019-4, passed 6-4-19; Am. Ord. 2024-12, passed --)