Thanks to rapidly rising aquifer levels, the City of San Marcos is going out of drought restrictions effective Sunday, Nov. 15 at noon. The Edwards Aquifer Authority went out of drought restrictions on Nov. 9.
Year-round water conservation rules allow use of sprinklers any day before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m. Hand watering and using soaker hoses or drip irrigation is allowed on any day at any time.
At-home car washing can be done at any time but must be done using a bucket or hand-held hose with an automatic shut-off device. Washing impervious surfaces is also allowed any time but should be limited unless required for health and safety. Waste of water is prohibited at all times.
San Marcos has been in drought restrictions since August. The City started the year in Stage 3 after being in some level of drought restrictions continuously since April of 2012. Spring rains and the Memorial Day flood event enabled the City to go out of drought restrictions in June, but a very dry summer resulted in a return to drought restrictions in August.
“El Nino has finally kicked in and we have received some significant rainfall events that have caused aquifer levels to rise rapidly, allowing us to skip stage 1 and go directly from stage 2 to no drought restrictions,” said Tom Taggart, Executive Director of City of San Marcos Public Services. “Predictions are that El Nino will stick around through winter, but there are no guarantees for regular rainfall, so residents should continue to conserve water.”
Year-round conservation rules are implemented when the 10-day average Edwards Aquifer index well level rises above 660 feet above mean sea level. On Nov. 12 the 10 day average aquifer level was at 661.0 feet and the daily reading was 660.9 feet.
Current aquifer levels and full text of the drought rules can be found on the City of San Marcos website at www.sanmarcostx.gov/drought.