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Lago Vista updates water‑conservation plan to reflect 2024 data; councilor urges tighter local measures
Summary
The council unanimously adopted a limited amendment to the city’s water conservation plan to meet Texas Water Development Board requirements, while a councilor pressed staff to close local loopholes on turf, backflow enforcement and irrigation run times before the plan’s full update in 2029.
The Lago Vista City Council voted unanimously to adopt a narrow amendment to the city’s water conservation plan incorporating 2023–24 utility profile data, a step staff said was required by the Texas Water Development Board so the city can continue to pursue grant applications.
Ernesto, who presented the staff report, said the amendment updates charts and the utility profile only; no substantive programmatic changes were required for the submission. "This was the change that is required; we’re pursuing several applications with the Water Board," Ernesto said, urging approval so the city would remain eligible for funding.
Councillor Benefield said he supported the city’s pursuit of grants but outlined numerous technical concerns and possible loopholes in the plan that he argued should be fixed sooner rather than later: the turf definition and the allowance of up to 7,000 square feet of high‑water‑use turf, lack of clarity about irrigation run times that could allow excessive watering on the allowed days, missing enforcement detail on backflow prevention (RPZ vs. double‑check), broken hyperlinks and incorrect acreages in utility tables. "I think there's a lot in this document that we could do better," Benefield said, listing specific sections he would like staff to revisit.
Staff and other councilors said they expected to return to the document for a fuller overhaul in 2029 when the comprehensive plan and the LCRA water plan will be updated. City staff asked the council to approve the minimal amendment now to avoid jeopardizing pending grant applications; councilors agreed they would work with staff to bring the technical fixes back for review. "We can approve this tonight and then make these updates later," one councilor said.
Councillor Prince moved adoption of Ordinance 26‑06‑18‑02 amending the water conservation plan; the Mayor Pro Tem seconded and the council approved the ordinance unanimously. Staff said the city will continue to pursue enhanced enrollment in the AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) portal for leak detection and would assemble Benefield’s technical comments for staff review.
Next steps: staff will finalize the submission to the Texas Water Development Board, gather Benefield’s detailed recommendations for targeted updates, and present proposed refinements before the broader 2029 plan rewrite.
