City moving to Stage 2 water rules
AQUIFER PROTECTION
If forecasters are correct, the San Marcos area could see significant rainfall over the next several days as a low-pressure system in the western Caribbean Sea moves northward through the Gulf of Mexico.
But, responding to established triggers designed to protect the Edwards Aquifer, the city says it will impose Stage 2 water conservation measures effective Sunday, June 17.
The stricter rules apply to residents who use municipal water and restrict sprinkler use to one day per week on designated days and also limit at-home washing of vehicles, foundations and impervious surfaces to once a week. Additionally, Stage 2 prohibits then filling of decorative water features like fountains.
Stage 2 was invoked last Sunday by the Edwards Aquifer Authority, limiting those with permits to pump from the aquifer to 30 percent of their annual take.
Water rules are triggered by the level of the aquifer at the J-17 Index well at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. (Springflow in the San Marcos and Comal Springs can also trigger restriction, though that has yet to happen.)
Stage 1 is triggered when the well’s 10-day average is 660 feet above mean sea level (msl). Stage 2 is invoked when the level drops to 650 feet. Wednesday, the 10-day average was 647.5 feet msl.
“Aquifer levels continue to decline very rapidly, between one and two feet per day,” Tom Taggart, the city’s director of public services, said. “At this rate, we could easily reach Stage 3 restrictions in just a few weeks, so we all need to really step up our conservation efforts.”
Stage 3 is triggered when the J-17 well drops to 640 feet msl. Stage 4, which has only been seen in San Marcos once, is triggered when the water level drops to 630 feet. Stage 5, which has so far never materialized, is triggered at a well level of 625 feet msl.
The National Weather Service has been sending out tropical updates all week regarding the system and its potential to develop into a tropical storm or hurricane.
Forecaster Jason Runyen said Wednesday morning that there is a 20 percent chance of the system becoming a tropical storm over the next five days. The best chance for rain in Central Texas will occur Sunday through Tuesday. “Generally 1-3 inches of rain is expected over those three days, however, the NWS says “isolated pockets” could get from 4 to 6 inches.
That said, the agency also noted that “confidence in this rainfall forecast is currently low and is likely to be adjusted as we get closer to the weekend.”
The city has posted complete Stage 2 rules at sanmarcostx.gov/drought.
