Critics see leaks in Austin's shifting summer watering schedule

When news reached Leo Dielmann in May that Austin might loosen the once-a-week lawn watering restrictions in place at the time, his off-the-cuff reaction was, "Are you crazy?"

Dielmann, chairman of the city's Resource Management Commission, was not worried that a return to twice-a-week watering would drastically drain Austin's water supplies, and saw advantages to the idea, such as helping the area's flora.

What worried Dielmann on that spring day was the possibility that promising weather forecasts could be wrong and that Austin could relax its rules only to tighten them a short time later.

That was the kind of back-and-forth scenario the city's water department had warned against, fearing it could confuse the public and undermine the willingness of Austinites to abide by the city's aggressive water conservation plan.

The rules were then relaxed in July, tweaked a few days later, then were tightened again on Tuesday to once-a-week watering by order of City Manager Marc Ott — meaning Austinites were under four sets of regulations in seven weeks.

"People want to comply with our watering regulations, but we make it harder when we move from one set of rules to another and then reverse course in such a relatively short span of time," City Council Member Kathie Tovo said.

The shifting rules illustrate the tug and countertug in a community that, while generally amendable to conservation, is debating how to balance its short-term needs against the long-term reality that water will become increasingly precious as the region's population grows.

Ott set the loosening-then-tightening cycle in motion partly to follow city protocol and partly in response to complaints from homeowners that once-a-week watering in the height of summer was threatening landscaping.

He also did so at the behest of Mayor Lee Leffingwell, a chief author of the city's 2007 conservation plan but who is also sympathetic to the concerns of homeowners and businesses worried about keeping landscaping alive.

Leffingwell says that Austin is a leader in water conservation and that at a gathering of the state's big-city mayors, "they were amazed we could go to (once-a-week watering) without running into open rebellion."

Appeal to mayor

Kay Bell is among the Austinites who are irritated with the way the city has handled the watering restrictions.

Bell, whose home sits on a 0.15-acre West Austin lot, objected to the once-a-week watering rules that went into effect a year ago because she considered them too restrictive.

When Ott relaxed the restrictions in mid-July, she had mixed feelings; she liked watering twice a week but was annoyed the new rules allowed it only in the early morning (from midnight to 5 a.m.) and in the evening (from 7 p.m. to midnight).

People who don't have automated irrigation systems were forced to use sprinklers attached to hoses in the dead of night or miss half the allowed watering time.

Bell talked with Leffingwell about the situation — she said other council members did not return her calls — and scores of other residents also complained to the city. Three days later, Ott decided to allow sprinklers fed by a single hose to be used until 10 a.m. on designated watering days.

Leffingwell wanted to loosen the restrictions for several reasons: Austin would still have the most stringent rules among cities that rely on water from the Highland Lakes. The combined storage of lakes Travis and Buchanan was not particularly robust, but it was no longer critically low. And most forecasters, including those working for the agency that manages the lakes, were predicting a summer wet enough that levels would not drop back to critical.

The mayor also argued that the city's tree canopy would be better off with more watering.

Ultimately, the mayor said, Austin's rules called for easing the restrictions when Travis and Buchanan were above about 43 percent full, though they also give the city manager final discretion. After winter rains, the lakes rose from a low of 35 percent full to 49 percent in May, when Leffingwell began asking to ease the restrictions.

"I, as a customer, would not want to risk having my vegetation die during the hottest part of the summer for no other reason than my neighbors might get confused," Leffingwell told the American-Statesman this week. "I see nothing wrong with going back and forth. It's how the policy is written, and I think the city has handled the situation exactly as it should have and with common sense."

Other opinions

But Leffingwell's arguments ran counter to the advice of the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the Highland Lakes.

In a late April newsletter, the river authority suggested the cities that get water from the lakes not loosen restrictions until Travis and Buchanan were 52 percent full, to give some leeway if forecasts were off.

Austin's water department recommended to Ott that the city follow that request and keep once-a-week watering in place.

Doing otherwise "could hurt (the water department's) reputation in the community and reverse successes we have had," Daryl Slusher, the city's water conservation director, wrote on July 10.

Slusher noted that the City Council was about to vote on new rules that would give greater flexibility for watering trees, arguing the case for twice-a-week watering was therefore less compelling, according to an email sent to Assistant City Manager Robert Goode, who was coordinating a meeting between city staffers and Leffingwell's office. The city correspondence was obtained by environmental activist Paul Robbins.

Though initially dismayed by the proposal to relax the rules, Dielmann, the resource commission chairman, heard from many residents, including some arborists, who thought the rule change would be helpful in keeping the urban canopy alive, as well as other arguments in favor.

And, Dielmann later noted, though he still has reservations about the changes, "we were in once-a-week watering for nearly a year, and there were still people who weren't watering at the right time. Some people just don't open their bills, pay attention to print and media ads or any other effort the (city) has made to educate the customers. There's only so much you can do for that."

Ott ultimately agreed with Leffingwell and relaxed the rules.

But the summer's rains were mostly soaked up by the parched ground and were lighter in the Highland Lake watershed, and the lakes dropped to critical levels. In response, Ott ordered the return to once-a-week watering.

More confusion

The change created logistical problems for the city staff. For instance, the city had purchased a full-page ad in the Aug. 31 Real magazine, published by the American-Statesman, explaining the rules for twice-a-week watering, which was out of date four days later.

The picture was further muddied because the City Council had adopted a new and relatively popular set of water conservation policies in August, which, among other changes, established new days for operating automated sprinkler systems (Wednesday for odd-numbered addresses, Thursday for even-numbered ones).

Bell, the West Austin resident, quickly found a loophole in the renewed once-a-week restrictions.

The new rules set different days for using automatic systems and hose-end sprinklers to spread out the city's water use and reduce peak demand. But this approach means some homes can actually water their lawns twice a week: once with an automatic system, once with a sprinkler fed by a hose.

"It's not fair that some of us can only water once a week, but other people can water twice if they're willing to spend more money," Bell said.

That may not be the case much longer. Slusher said that with a relatively wet fall and winter expected, the city may return to twice-a-week restrictions later this year.

Contact Marty Toohey at 445-3673

Changes in Austin watering schedule

¦ Sept. 6, 2011: City moves from twice-a-week watering to once-a-week watering.

¦ July 16: City returns to twice-a-week watering, but with limited hours.

¦ July 19: In response to complaints, the city extends the watering hours for hose-end sprinklers.

¦ Tuesday: City reinstates once-a-week watering, but with different days from before and other changes.

Current schedule

¦ Homes that use automatic sprinkler systems can water once a week, from midnight to 5 a.m. and then from 7 p.m. to midnight. Those with odd-numbered addresses can water on Wednesdays, those with even numbers on Thursdays.

¦ Homes with hose-end sprinklers (a hose attached to a sprinkler) can water once a week, from midnight to 10 a.m., and then from 7 p.m. to midnight. Odd-numbered addresses can water on Saturday, even-numbered addresses on Sunday.

¦ Residents can use a hand-held hose or drip irrigation system at any time, so long as they are not watering the pavement or otherwise visibly wasting water.