CLWSC Only Asked Residents to Limit Use

Canyon Lake Water Service Company (CLWSC) said in an email to MyCanyonLake.com it only asked residents to temporarily limit indoor water usage earlier this week.

The statement was issued by Larry Jackson, CLWSC’s manager of Customer Service, in a response to a July 3 article about a Vintage Oaks resident who reported she and other neighbors were without water on Tuesday, and that the company blamed them for overwatering their lawns.

“Some residents experienced a water outage in the Vintage Oaks neighborhood on Monday evening and some experienced low water pressure,” he said. “Due to the diverse terrain and multiple pressure zones throughout the neighborhood, it’s difficult to determine exact number of impacted residents for either scenario.”

CLWSC announced it was implementing Stage 2 drought restrictions on Wednesday, July 4.

Jackson said that earlier in the week, CLWSC asked customers in Vintage Oaks to temporarily limit their water use to indoor usage only.

He said the company continues to pump as much water as possible into water tanks throughout its distribution network, including Vintage Oaks.

“By July 4, the storage tanks in Vintage Oaks had recovered sufficiently,” he said. “The implementation of Stage 2 water restriction will help mitigate the balance between demand and supply in not only Vintage Oaks, but the rest of the CLWSC distribution system.”

Stage 2 Triggers

Jackson said actual triggers for Stage 2 implementation are:

• Water consumption has reached 90 percent of the available production capacity for three consecutive days;
• Water level in any of the water storage tanks cannot be adequately replenished for three consecutive days;
• and Canyon Reservoir water-surface elevation drops to a level of 890 feet msl or lower.

CLWSC implemented Stage 2 earlier this week after concerns with the water level in storage tanks, Jackson said.

“Most of the high demand is due to landscape irrigation both in new and existing neighborhoods,” he wrote in the email. “Interestingly, about half of the calls we’ve received related to water restrictions are customers calling to report neighbors violating restrictions.  CLWSC does not have an ‘enforcement’ team that monitors water restriction violators.

“We have to work in partnership with customers to help mitigate water usage during water restrictions.  Monitoring for violators is part of that partnership.”

Actual Timeline for Vintage Oaks

Jackson outlined CLWSC’s actual actions this week in response to lower water levels in its water storage tanks:

“In reference to Vintage Oaks, on Monday (7/2) evening the storage tanks were being depleted faster than CLWSC was able to replenish at an exceedingly high rate, much higher that what was being experienced in other areas.  Therefore, an automated call and email were sent to Vintage Oaks and Inland Estates customers around 8:45am on Tuesday (7/3) morning. The message was:

“This is an important message from Canyon Lake Water Service Company.  Due to high temperatures along with increased irrigation, the water storage capacity has become extremely limited in your area.  Until further notice, we ask that water usage is limited to essential indoor use only. Expect important announcements about Stage Two Water Restrictions later this week.  If you have any questions please contact our business office at 830-312-4600.

“Later in the day and after the Stage 2 Water Restrictions were announced, CLWSC sent a second message.  The message was:

“This is an important message from Canyon Lake Water Service Company.   We appreciate your efforts today to limit water usage to indoor use only.  Based on water supply recovery estimates, we recommend that you continue to conserve water through the evening.  Effective tomorrow, CLWSC will implement stage two water restrictions and you may begin to use the stage two weekly watering schedule.  Please refer to our website at CLWSC.com or contact us at 830-312-4600. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.”