Guidelines for water-use restrictions in Port A releasedFree Access


This map shows when lawn sprinkling can be done in different parts of Port Aransas to comply with new water-use restrictions. (South Jetty illustration by Keith Petrus, © 2022.)

You might need to change how you’re using lawn sprinklers at your Port Aransas home or business.

Drought-related water-use restrictions recently imposed on Port Aransas and surrounding areas mean folks may use their sprinklers on their lawns only one day each week, according to Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 4.

What day you are allowed to do that depends on what part of town you’re in. The water district has divided Port Aransas into four zones, according to Scott Mack, the water district’s manager.

Zone 1 is anywhere north of Beach Access Road 1A. In that area, you can use your sprinklers only on Tuesdays.

In Zone 2, the area between access roads 1A and 1, your day for sprinkling will be Wednesdays.

Zone 3 lies between Beach Access Road 1 and an imaginary line drawn through a vacant area just south of Cinnamon Shore North. Your irrigation day is Thursday if you live in that part of town.

Zone 4 is an area from that imaginary line south to Mustang Island State Park. If you’re in that area, your sprinkling day is Friday.

The water district’s boundaries extend south beyond the Port Aransas city limits, all the way up to and including the Island Park Estate subdivision, which lies just north of Mustang Island State Park.

(A map with this story illustrates the zones. Illustration is © 2022 South Jetty.)

Even if it’s your day to use sprinklers, you have to be careful about what hours you do it. Use of sprinklers between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. is prohibited no matter what day it is.

However, watering is permitted any day if it’s done with a hand-held hose with a shutoff nozzle or if it’s done with a bucket or watering can that holds fewer than five gallons. Watering can be done any day also if it is done through drip irrigation with a shutoff device.

Stage 1 doesn’t affect use of swimming pools or car washing.

The restrictions don’t apply to use of well water.

All of the current water-use restrictions are spelled out in Stage 1 in the water district’s Drought Contingency Plan.

The restrictions have been imposed because Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir have gotten so low. Those water bodies provide a large percentage of this area’s drinking water.

If lake levels keep dropping, more severe restrictions could be imposed in further stages spelled out in the Drought Contingency Plan.

The full plan can be seen on the water district’s website at ncwcid4.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019Drought_Contingency_Plan.pdf.

(Watch for more in the South Jetty’s June 23 edition.)

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