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Watering restrictions
in effect thru Oct.31st
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Water
Here, in Texas, the only thing more important than water is how that water is used. Since the 1950s, when a severe drought brought Dallas to the edge of catastrophe, the City has protected its collective sources of water. Now, as population pressures combine with increasing agricultural and industrial needs, the ways we protect and allocate this priceless resource are more important than ever.
We separate water into a few categories:
Drinking water is the kind running through the pipes at your house to drink, bathe, and water your lawn. Dallas’ drinking water is maintained by Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) which provides water and wastewater services to a 699 square mile area which includes 4,178 miles of wastewater main. DWU also leads the City’s water conservation efforts. DWU also leads the City’s water conservation efforts and maintains the latest water quality reports.
Storm water is the water that runs down the street, enters the storm drain system inlets and eventually ends up in our creeks, rivers and lakes. This can be rain water, or even the runoff water from washing your car or watering your lawn. Often times, the moving water picks up many things during its trip from leaves to garbage and carries it straight to our waterways. Dallas Storm Water Management is tasked with the job of caring for our storm water system.
Wastewater is the water that has already been used at your house and travels from your sewer system to the treatment plant. As part of the service to its customers, DWU treats 74 billion gallons of wastewater annually (FY 06-07). Unfortunately, in recent years Dallas has experienced an increase in sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). An SSO is defined as the discharge of sewage from the wastewater collection system before reaching the treatment plant. SSOs present a concern to both human health and the environment. A big part of the problem is kitchen grease. Dallas residents who are unfamiliar with the effects of grease on the collection system pour grease and cooking oil down their drains which can result in blockages in city sanitary sewer lines and homeowner pipes, property damage, foul odors and road closures due to pipe repairs. To find out more about this problem, what you can do to properly dispose of your household grease, and how grease can be recycled into biodiesel fuel, check out the “Cease the Grease” program.
The City of Dallas is proud of its accomplishments in both water quality and conservation. Here are some examples of our efforts:
- The City of Dallas has dramatically increased its efforts to promote water conservation. A Five-Year Strategic Plan on Water Conservation was adopted, which has resulted in a significant reduction in per capita water consumption. Dallas’ conservation program includes leak detection and main repair and replacement, audits of irrigation systems at City facilities, educational initiatives, and a Xeriscape program.
- The City has set a goal of reducing City facility water usage by 67.86 million gallons by December 2008.
- Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) supplies our water from 5 reservoirs and, with 4,639 miles of water main, serves an area of 699 square miles. Its three treatment plants have the capacity to purify 855 million gallons each day.
- More than 90,000 storm drains in Dallas carry rainwater runoff—and everything in it—directly into the nearest creeks, rivers and lakes. Scientists have already found more than seven herbicides and pesticides polluting the Trinity River. One fourth of pollutants in our rivers and steams originate from residential use of these herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.
- A collaboration between DWU and the Park and Recreation Department illustrates one of many imaginative solutions, developed by City employees, that will conserve the water on which our lives and lifestyles depend:
- In April 2005, DWU completed a pipeline and delivery system that sent highly treated wastewater from one of its treatment plants directly to the golf links at Cedar Crest Golf Course through the course’s irrigation system. During 2005 alone, that new system irrigated Cedar Crest with 81.7 million gallons of treated wastewater—leaving 81.7 million gallons of clean water now available for drinking, bathing and other uses
- The Pretreatment and Laboratory Services Division of Dallas Water Utilities received the Pretreatment Program of the Year Award from the Texas Water Utilities Association.
- DWU’s Grease Abatement Program received the Public Information & Education Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) in recognition of its environmental achievements on July 18, 2007. The award was presented at NACWA’s summer conference – “Sustainable Infrastructure Choices….Gray, Green and Everything In Between".
