140507 Water Matters Eblast

Effective June 1, 2014, a new city ordinance will go into effect adopting the proposed amendments to Title 13, Chapter 13.15 of the Code of Ordinances entitled Water Utility Services to include provisions for landscaping and irrigation procedures, and enforcement of those provisions, to more effectively manage the City's water resources and maintain compliance with Texas Administrative Code Title 30, Chapter 288.

A PDF file of the ordinance can be downloaded from the following web address:

http://agendas.georgetown.org/Bluesheet.aspx?ItemID=6460&MeetingID=676

Water violations and fines can be found on page 13, under Sec 13.15.160: Administrative Penalties.

Violation

First Violation within 12-month period                                  $60 or Water Conservation Class

            Second Violation within 12-month period                             $75

from date of immediately preceding violation

Third and subsequent violations within 12-month               $100

Watering days are as follows:

Odd addresses may irrigate on
Tuesday and/or Saturday

Even addresses may irrigate on
Wednesday and/or Sunday

No sprinkler or irrigation system use is permitted on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.

Watering information can be found at the following website:

http://water.georgetown.org/

If you need assistance programming your controller contact your neighborhood representative to have a water ambassador help you, or talk to your landscape/irrigation professional.

Golden Rod Trail Head

This is the entry to Blue Heron Trail at Golden Rod

140410 Water Matters Eblast

140410 Water Matters Eblast

We had several homes in the community affected by the lightning this past weekend. Please check your controllers for time and date accuracy

Watering days are as follows:

Odd addresses may irrigate on
Tuesday and/or Saturday

Even addresses may irrigate on
Wednesday and/or Sunday

No sprinkler or irrigation system use is permitted on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.

This information can be found at the following website:

http://water.georgetown.org/

I would recommend watering no more than one day a week only. Temperatures remain cooler at night and over watering can lead to fungus in the landscape. I am watering the boulevards twice a week, but only at 35% of early Summer run times. I would also recommend staying attentive to weather forecasts so that we can anticipate shutting the system off ahead of the next freeze or rain event that usually accompanies our weekly cold fronts this time of year.

If you need assistance programming your controller contact your neighborhood representative to have a water ambassador help you, or talk to your landscape/irrigation professional.

131031 WATER MATTERS

During this time of the year we usually experience cooler and wetter weather. Irrigation systems should be running no more than one day a week; I prefer to leave everything off unless the weather is drier. Although most plants and turf enter a dormant phase and stop growing above ground, below ground their root zones are still expanding. Should temperatures decide to be milder, a one day a week schedule will provide adequate water to sustain it through the winter. Remember to turn the controller off if anticipating rain or freezing temperatures.

WATER SAVING TIPS

• ·         When doing laundry, match the water level to the size of the load.
• ·         Reduce the amount of lawn in your yard by planting shrubs and ground cover appropriate to our region.
• ·         Teach your children to turn off faucets tightly after each use.
• ·         Remember to check your sprinkler system valves periodically for leaks and keep sprinkler heads in good shape.
• ·         Soak pots and pans instead of letting water run while you scrape them clean.

131031 Eblast

Happy Halloween! We’ve had over 2.5 inches of rain this week. All controllers should be turned off. It’s also a good time to verify that rain sensors are working. Try running a manual test of your system. If it comes on, then either your rain sensor is not hooked up correctly, or it is bypassed. Contact your irrigation professional or a water ambassador if you are unsure.

With more rain forecasted next week, it would be appropriate to leave the controllers in the OFF position. Over watering during these moister, cooler days can lead to unsightly fungus and mold patches in your landscape. Also a reminder that controllers need to be set to no more than 2 days a week per the city’s request. I think we would be safe given our current and projected weather to reduce that even further to 1 day a week. If you would rather keep you program at 2 days a week, consider reducing the water budget to 50%, or half of your regular run time.

131017

Coming back to Sun City after a short trip to Arizona for my sister's wedding, it was really nice to be greeted with the cooler temperatures and abundant rain. Just for the month of October we have received 2.68 inches of rain and have had and accumulated evapotranspiration (ET) total of 1.78 inches. ET is a calculated value representing the amount of moisture that has evaporated and transpired from the soil given daily weather conditions.Based on the ET and rainfall totals, all irrigation systems should be shut off.

With the promise of more rain and cooler temperatures to come we can probably make it through the rest of the month without running our systems at all. Also I received word from the city that the 2 day a week watering restrictions went into effect on Monday, October 14th. Residents should receive official notification in the mail.

131003 October Plans

Having completed our goals for NH 46, we have moved over to Area 51. Our task here is pretty much the same as NH 46. We will be extending the fuel break behind the properties an additional 50 feet beyond the existing 30 foot break.

Along the creek at WWGC near hole 11 and the iron bridge, we have a tree trying to fall into the water way, as well as a fair amount of debris accumulation under the bridge.