The City of Victoria is lifting some of its drought restrictions, but residents must continue to conserve water by limiting some types of nonessential water usage to the cooler times of day.

The City entered Stage III of its drought contingency plan in May after low rainfall across the region limited the City’s ability to pump water from the Guadalupe River. The City is now terminating Stage III restrictions and re-entering Stage II after heavy rainfall caused the river to rise, which allows the City to resume normal pumping and reduces the need for restrictions.

What must residents do to conserve water?

Under Stage II of the plan, residents are no longer required to follow many of the Stage III restrictions, such as the limitation of watering to designated days. However, residents still must limit the following activities to the hours of 6-10 a.m. and 8 p.m.-midnight:

• Using an automatic lawn sprinkler or hose-end sprinkler
• Filling pools
• Washing vehicles (this restriction does not apply to commercial car washes and service stations)

Residents can water their lawns with hoses at any time of day, as long as the hose has a positive shut-off nozzle.

When will the restrictions be lifted?

The City will terminate Stage II restrictions and re-enter Stage One when the flow of the Guadalupe River rises above its “low flow” threshold for 14 consecutive days and when Public Works determines that the City’s water intake can meet demand without the restrictions.

The “low flow” threshold is defined by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and varies from month to month.

Under Stage One, all mandatory restrictions will be lifted and residents will be asked to practice voluntary water conservation.

Stay connected

For more information about the drought contingency plan, visit www.victoriatx.gov/droughtplan or contact Public Works at 361-485-3380.