CITY OF HEATH UNDER STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS: 06.23.23
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY DUE TO EQUIPMENT FAILURE
WATERING WITH IRRIGATION SYSTEMS LIMITED TO ONCE PER WEEK, ON SCHEDULED DAY ONLY
Stage 2 Cause, Actions and Restrictions
The City of Heath operates a single pump station that has two 300-HP Pumps and a single 200-HP Pump to pump water from our 3.0-MG Ground Storge Tank to customers in the City.
On June 22, 2023, at 10:30 p.m., City staff received an alarm from the pump station that one of the 300-HP pumps had automatically turned off due to an alarm being triggered. City staff immediately dispatched to the pump station to determine the cause of the alarm and related auto-shutdown of the 300-HP pump. It has been determined that the pump shaft has seized. Staff is arranging a crane to pull the pump for disassembly and analysis to determine the cause of the shaft binding. Staff suspects a bearing on the shaft has failed and will need replacement. Until the actual cause of the pump failure is determined, it is not possible to estimate a schedule for the repair of the pump.
Due to the failure of one of the 300-HP pumps, the City’s ability to pump water to its customers is limited to approximately 4.5 million-gallons-per-day (MGD) instead of the 6 million-gallons-per-day (MGD) as allowed by its provider, the City of Rockwall. For this reason, the City of Heath is declaring a water emergency and is IMMEDIATELY INITIATING STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS.
Stage 2 Trigger/Initiation:
The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) declares initiation of Stage 2, and/or City water usage exceeds 90% of the daily water supply limit for two days in a seven-day period, or any set of conditions where it appears that the City water demand will exceed the ability of City water system or water supply.
At present, the City of Heath’s daily take limit from the City of Rockwall is 6.0 million-gallons-per-day (MGD). The Stage 2 trigger usage is therefore 5.4 million-gallons-per-day (MGD) under normal circumstances. However, due to one of the three pumps being down, the City’s ability to pump at a level that keeps up with demand is limited, thereby triggering Stage 2 prior to reaching the normal 90% threshold.
Actions and Water Customer Restrictions:
City of Heath customers are hereby limited to watering/irrigating landscapes and lawns with sprinklers or irrigation systems to once a week, on designated days according to the following schedule: (Please note, no watering/irrigating is allowed on weekends).
LAST NUMBER OF HOUSE ADDRESS DAY OF WEEK WATERING IS ALLOWED
- 1 or 2 MONDAY
- 3 or 4 TUESDAY
- 5 or 6 WEDNESDAY
- 7 or 8 THURSDAY
- 9 or 0 FRIDAY
- No watering/irrigating landscapes and lawns with sprinklers or irrigation systems may occur any day between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
- Foundations, trees and other plantings (not lawns) may be watered at any time with handheld or soaker hoses.
- Stage 2 restrictions are mandatory and fines (up to $2,000 per day) and other enforcement actions up to and including termination of water service will be applied to those who fail to comply with the restrictions.
Irrigation restrictions do not apply to locations using irrigation water from private wells, or water pumped from Lake Ray Hubbard in compliance with active permits issued by the City of Dallas.
City government will halt non-essential water use, such as: vehicle washing; flow testing of fire hydrants; unmanned flushing of water mains; and pressure washing.
City government will also increase enforcement efforts for wasteful water use such as leaking plumbing or irrigation systems over spraying onto paved surfaces.
If you have questions, please contact: Matthew Holzapfel, P.E., Director of Public Works at: mholzapfel@heathtx.com.
