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City Of Plano Asks Residents To Limit Outdoor Water Use

This Saturday a Wylie water treatment plant had to go under maintenance reducing the water available
Watering,Flowers,In,The,Garden
Photo: Kateryna Yakovlieva | Shutterstock

The North Texas Municipal Water District, most of Collin County’s water provider has issued a conservation alert last Saturday. They are requesting residents to reduce their water use immediately, especially outdoor use. 

The official release explained a Wylie water treatment plant required critical maintenance to return the plant back to full water purification capacity, resulting in the plant ceasing producing water last Saturday. The NTMWD explained that this was a precautionary call to action, as “NTMWD’s water purification capacity remains adequate for basic services including household use and for public safety.”

NTMWD supplies water to communities across most of Collin County, Rockwall County, north Dallas County and Kaufman County. So all of those areas are also affected by the unscheduled maintenance that closed one of the four plants in the Wylie facility.

The cause of the plant’s malfunction was attributed to the ongoing drought combined with outdoor water use and irrigation stressing the water purification and distribution systems. This means it’s the quantity of water residents should look after, not the quality. Officials say water is safe to drink and use. 

“Due to peak water demands by customers, the accumulation of sediment has accelerated and impacted the ability for the plant to efficiently process water through the treatment process,” the official statement reads. “Crews will be working around the clock to restore treatment capacity through these basins.”

The city of Plano is asking citizens to concentrate their conservation efforts on outdoor use through Wednesday. And to only water foundations, shrubs and trees until Thursday, when they can return to their normal usage.

“The week-long outlook by the National Weather Service Fort Worth/Dallas includes high temperatures with hot conditions and continuation of the current drought – which emphasizes the importance of this regional call to action to conserve water and reduce outdoor watering,” adds NTMWD.