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Georgetown Water Utilities recommends return to two-day-a-week irrigation on June 9 after South Lake plant phase I comes online
Summary
Water Utilities Director Chelsea Solomon told council the city's system capacity will rise with South Lake phase I and other projects, and staff recommended resuming two-day watering on June 9 while continuing conservation and AMI meter rollouts.
Chelsea Solomon, Georgetown's water utilities director, briefed the council on system capacity, ongoing projects and a staff recommendation to return to two-day-a-week outdoor watering for most customers starting June 9, contingent on the South Lake Water Treatment Plant Phase I coming online.
Solomon said recent capital work and interconnections give the city additional margin above expected 2025 peak demand. She listed completed and in-progress projects that increase supply or distribution flexibility: the North Lake expansion (online in 2024), rehabilitation of an existing 3.2 million-gallon plant, the Parkside interconnect with Round Rock (3 million gallons per day online in August 2024), and temporary pumps purchased to better move water across the system. South Lake WTP phase I is scheduled for substantial completion on June 2 and would add 22 million gallons per day; phase II is planned for 2026 and would add more capacity.
"Our recommendation is to go back to 2 days a week watering on June 9," Solomon said, noting the extra week after June 2 would allow staff to confirm operations and work through punch-list items. She said the city would remain in drought contingency stage 1 because of regional lake levels but that the recommendation would give customers the option to water two days a week; customers are not required to change if they prefer a single-day schedule.
Other operational highlights Solomon presented: - Projected capacity and demand: staff estimated system treatment capacity near 80.4 million gallons per day in 2025 and forecasted a max-day demand between 60 and 65 million gallons per day, leaving operational margin if projects finish on schedule. - AMI rollout and conservation: the Western District AMI meter installation was reported about 50% complete and expected to finish by September; AMI enables leak detection, customer notifications and better enforcement of watering restrictions. Staff reported nearly 9,000 wrong-day watering notices issued so far this year. - Ongoing construction: Solomon listed pipeline upgrades, Park wells and the Daniels Mountain pump station/transmission main (the latter expected late 2026 or early 2027 for Florence-area service); several wells are scheduled for rehab in June and July. - Customer programs: the city has expanded rebates (commercial and multifamily rebates to start when third-party processing comes online) and distributed about $136,000 in rebates year to date.
Council members asked about outreach and customer messaging; Solomon said staff would coordinate with the city's public information office and planned targeted education so customers understand the new schedule and avoid wrong-day watering notices.
No formal action was taken at the workshop; staff sought council confirmation of the operational recommendation and said they will continue daily coordination on South Lake construction and AMI rollout ahead of the summer peak.
