Summary: Since Willow Park buys water from Fort Worth, Willow Park’s Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan and ordinances must follow the "same water conservation restrictions as the City of Fort Worth." Find out when you are allowed to use water outside, in the ordinance excerpts for residential water use.
Latest Update: updated 26 April 2024, Public Notice; 19 April, 2023
Willow Park's updated Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan
Summary, Excerpts, Sources and Resources
Since Willow Park buys water from Fort Worth, Willow Park’s Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan and ordinances must follow the "same water conservation restrictions as the City of Fort Worth. [1]"
During the 23 April 2024 Council Meeting, the City presented the "Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan. [1]
Excerpts
Full Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan in .pdf
Excerpts include current Willow Park water sources and capacity, Water restrictions that affect residential home owners and exceptions. Note: An ellipsis (...) indicates additional details in the original ordinance source.
• WHEREAS, the City has entered into a wholesale water purchase agreement with the City of Fort Worth to purchase up to 3.4 MGD and that agreement requires that the City adopt a drought contingency and emergency water plan that is consistent with and follows the same water conservation restrictions as the City of Fort Worth;
• Whereas amended drought contingency and emergency water management plan as contained in Article 13.11 of the City’s Code of Ordinances that is consistent with and follows the same water conservation restrictions as the City of Fort Worth and is in compliance with the requirements of Title 30 of the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 288
• 13.11.004 Water System Profile (pages 5-6)
As of July 2023, the city has a groundwater well system of 24 wells that produce water from both the Paluxy and Trinity aquifers. The capacity of the groundwater system is approximately 1.5 MGD. The city also has entered into a joint agreement with Hudson Oaks to purchase water from the City of Fort Worth. The City of Fort Worth has agreed to provide up to 3.4 MGD. The City of Fort Worth purchases water from the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD).
The City of Willow Park also has a connection in place and can purchase up to 200,000 gpd of water from the City of Weatherford in an emergency.
As of July 2023, The City of Willow Park has approximately 105 commercial connections and 2000 residential connections and maintains approximately 60 miles of distribution pipelines. The city expects to add approximately 150 connections per year over the next 10 years.
In accordance with Section 2.3 of the wholesale water contract with Fort Worth, the City of Willow Park, as a wholesale customer, will be required to institute and apply the same rationing, conservation measures or restrictions to the use of water by their customers for so long as any part of their total water supply is being furnished by Fort Worth. This drought contingency plan is modeled after the City of Fort Worth’s plan.
• 13.11.005 Public Involvement, The public has had an opportunity to provide input into the plan. (page 6)
(a) A public meeting soliciting comments was held on April 23, 2024. The meeting was advertised on the city Web site.
(b) The draft plan was posted on the City of Willow Park’s Web site (www.willowpark.org) for one month prior to City Council adoption. [Willow Park Civics Note: This requirement for citizen review was stricken from the ordinance during the 23 April 2024 Council Meeting. [1]]
(c) Copies are available to anyone upon request
• Division 2. Initiation and Termination of Drought and Emergency Response Stages (page 7)
• 13.11.021 Initiation of Drought/ Emergency Water Management Stage
• Division 3. Drought and Emergency Response Stages, page 8
• 13.11.040 Stage 1- Water Watch
(a) Triggering Conditions (b) Terminating Conditions for Stage 1 (c) Goal for Use Reduction for Stage 1 (d) Actions Available for Stage 1
(e) All Water Users
(1) Discourage hosing of paved areas...
(2) Discourage hosing of buildings or other structures...
(3) Prohibit using water in such a manner as to allow runoff or other waste...
(4) Prohibit outdoor watering with sprinklers or irrigation systems between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
(5) Limit landscape watering with sprinklers or irrigation systems at each service address to a twice per week schedule as outlined below. This includes landscape watering of parks, golf courses, and sports fields.
(A) Residential addresses ending in an even number (0, 2, 4, 6, or 8) may water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
(B) Residential addresses ending in an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7 or 9) may water on Thursdays and Sundays.
(C) All non-residential locations (apartment complexes, businesses, industries, parks, medians, etc.) may water on Tuesdays and Fridays.
(D) No watering on Mondays.
(6) Encourage signage for customers drawing water from private wells or using recycled water in order to facilitate proper enforcement.
(7) Exceptions: page 10
(A) Watering on any day by handheld hose, drip irrigation, a soaker hose or tree bubbler. This exception is exclusively for trees, shrubs and foundations.
(B) Water use necessary for the repair of an irrigation system, plumbing line, fountain, etc. in the presence of the person making the repair.
(C) Outdoor watering at service addresses with large multi-station irrigation systems...
(D) If hydromulch, grass sod, or grass seed is installed for the purpose of establishing a new lawn...
(F) Skinned areas of sports fields...
(G) Watering of athletic fields...
(H) Public areas that are open to the public at-large and have a high –impact from frequent use...
(I) All users are encouraged to use native and adapted drought tolerant plants in landscaping.
...
(K) Discourage the filling, draining, or refilling of swimming pools, wading pools, hot tubs, and Jacuzzi type pools except to maintain adequate water levels for structural integrity, proper operation, and maintenance, and/or to alleviate an issue that poses a public safety risk. Users of these types of activities must notify the City of Willow Park beforehand.
• 13.11.043 Procedures for Granting Variances to the Plan
• 13.11.045 Review and Update of Plan - As required by TCEQ rules, the City of Willow Park will review this plan at least every five (5) years. The plan will be updated as appropriate based on new or updated information.”
Sources and Resources
• Willow Park Civics Blog > Willow Park Public Notices for week ending 26 April 2024
• 23 April 2024 Council Meeting, Agenda Item 6
Discussion/Action: the City Council will consider, discuss and take action on adopting an ordinance setting forth the City's updated Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan. The City Council will hear and consider any public input on the proposed updated Plan.
• Background:
The City of Willow Park is required to adopt a new Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Plan every 5 years. Under the contract with Fort Worth, the City is required to follow the plan passed by the Fort Worth Wholesale Committee.
The City of Fort Worth submitted the plan to the wholesale committee for review and the City of Fort Worth will approve the plan themselves on Wednesday morning.
• Exhibits: Copy of the Ordinance
• Drought Contingency Ordinance 2024 (proposed), Willow Park City Website, 19 April 2024, 9:43AM
The Willow Park City Council will vote on the 2024 Drought Contingency Ordinance at its April 23, 2024 meeting. The ordinance can be read in its entirety here.
• Willow Park Civics Blog > Water for Willow Park, A New Beginning
• Willow Park Irrigation Guidelines
• Watering guidelines reminder, Willow Park City website, 05 June 2023
As many of you know, the City of Willow Park is now officially connected to the City of Fort Worth water supply, which secures our resources for the future. BUT, that means we also have to follow the rules set forth by our friends in Cowtown. Please see the chart for the days when you can use a sprinkler, and remember that watering with irrigation systems or hose-end sprinklers is only allowed before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. on your assigned days.
More details:
Drip irrigation, soaker hose, handheld hoses, and tree bubblers are allowed any day, but only for two hours at a time;
Please only use hand-held buckets and hoses with shut-off valves for washing vehicles;
Please don't hose paved areas or buildings, unless it's for fire protection;
Please check in with city hall for a variance if you're going to establish new turf.
These rules are in place year-round. Should further conservation be required, you will receive a notification from the city as to those measures.
We appreciate everyone's cooperation to help make Willow Park a strong community!
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