Houstonians asked to voluntarily conserve water under Stage 1 of city's Drought Contingency Plan

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Friday, December 15, 2023
City of Houston under mandatory watering restrictions amid drought
Houston enters Stage Two of the city's Drought Contingency Plan, mandating water restrictions. Here are tips on how to keep your plants alive.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston has now dialed back its mandatory watering restrictions, which were triggered by the city's drought four months ago.

The video above is from an Aug. 27 report when mandatory watering restrictions were in effect.

The city rescinded Stage Two of its Drought Contingency Plan and returned to Stage One.

Houston Public Works is now urging residents to return to voluntary watering conservation efforts due to recent rainfall and the drop in daily temperatures.

Stage One calls for limiting outdoor watering to twice a week between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. with the following schedule:

  • Sundays and Thursdays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses
  • Saturdays and Wednesdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses
  • Tuesdays and Fridays for all other customers

Water customers are also reminded to continue everyday efforts to prevent the loss of water, like checking and repairing water leaks, including dripping faucets and running toilets, and checking sprinkler heads to make sure water is not spraying into the street or directly into storm drains.

City officials said these voluntary efforts would help Houston reduce water use by 5%.

SEE ALSO: City leaders to Houstonians' concerns of high water bills: 'We have to figure that out'

After hearing from dozens of residents about their high water bills, city leaders said they're working on more relief.