Keller staff proposes broader water‑conservation ordinance to close enforcement gaps after prolonged leaks

City staff briefed the Keller City Council on proposed changes to the Unified Development Code and related ordinances to strengthen water‑conservation and drought contingency enforcement.

Public works staff told the council that the current code focuses on lawn irrigation systems and does not clearly allow the city to require repairs to other sources of uncontrolled water loss — examples cited included a faulty hose bib that dripped thousands of gallons per day for more than three weeks and a pool auto‑fill device that ran for months. Staff said both situations were difficult to compel a prompt repair because the code did not expressly cover private plumbing fixtures or pool fill devices.

Staff proposed expanding definitions and enforcement language to cover "pool systems, private plumbing systems and fire protection systems" so that persistent leaks or broken components that waste water can be cited and corrected. Council and staff discussed phrasing to avoid overbroad enforcement (staff suggested removing the word "system" in places and tightening language such as "private plumbing" or specific fixtures) and emphasized education and voluntary compliance as the primary approach.

The current enforcement penalty in the code is up to $500 per day for violations; staff said the preferred approach will remain education and voluntary repair but that a clearer code will give the city a legal basis to require fixes when necessary. Staff said they will simplify the language and return with an ordinance amendment at a future meeting.

Councilmembers asked that the proposal be clear about who is required to pay for repairs when water loss is discovered and asked staff to coordinate with meter data and the city’s smart meter alerts, which are used to detect sudden spikes in consumption.