Conservation

Storm Water Drains Aren’t Dumpsters

HCMUD18 Is No Longer Under A Drought Contingency Plan

Harris County Municipal Utility District #18 receives a majority of its water from the North Harris County Regional Water Authority, and through them from the City of Houston.  MUD 18’s Board of Directors have posted this message to our website for our District customers:  As of November 12, 2023 MUD18 is no longer under formal restrictions of a Drought Contingency Plan – however, we encourage customers to continue to conserve water.

HCMUD18 has water sufficient water capacity and your conservation continues to prevent problems in our area.  The Board of Directors will continue active efforts to monitor and update the website with any news.

The City of Houston (COH), the primary source of water for the North Harris County Regional Water Authority (Authority), has entered stage two of their Drought Contingency Plan, effective on August 27, 2023.  The COH’s drought response calls for mandatory water conservations efforts to reduce water use, that will reduce the daily volume of water delivered.  The Houston Public Works Release can be found under https://cityofhouston.news/stagetwodrought/ .

As required by the Authority’s Drought Contingency Plan, the Authority must enter Stage 2 of our Drought Contingency Plan, when the COH enters into Stage 2 water shortage of their Drought Contingency Plan.  The Authority’s Drought Contingency Plan requires that any customer receiving water from the Authority or well owner whose well is included under the Authority’s Harris-Galveston Subsidence District aggregate water well permit.

Harris County MUD 18 is required to implement Stage 2 of our Drought Contingency Plan:

All Customers of Harris County MUD 18 are restricted to the following:

  • Repair detectible water leaks within 72 hours of discovery;
  • Utilize water conservation measures such as displacement bags, low-flow shower heads and leak detection tablets. Additional water conservation tips can be found at irrygator.com;
  • Limit outdoor irrigation to the hours 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day on no more than two (2) days per week, in conformity with the following schedule (no watering on Mondays):
    • Sundays and Thursdays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses
    • Saturdays and Wednesdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses; and
    • Tuesdays and Fridays for all other customers

Compliance with the above requirements is mandatory.

Water Conservation

Harris County MUD 18 is committed to water conservation and supports a variety of programs that offer ways to more efficiently use this resource. Water conservation is everyone’s business. The water we conserve today will serve us tomorrow.

MUD 18 has updated its Water Rates table to address an increasing cost of water. It is hoped that an outcome of this necessary revision would be an increased awareness of the need for personal conservation by families in our District.

This is the Water Conservation Plan adopted by the Board of Directors.

Drought Information

The District has adopted a Drought Contingency Plan, and it is important that you know what it means if an advisory notice is issued.

Notices issued under the plan may include:

  • a call for voluntary water conservation, or
  • a notice of mandatory water conservation that institutes specific days and times by house address for outdoor watering

Notices of voluntary conservation are usually triggered by extended hot weather and/or periods of low rainfall. Mandatory conservation notices guide customers during more severe conditions that could affect our District’s water availability. Please review the Plan if you see signs posted in your neighborhood, and abide by the restrictions.

Water Smart Program

The Water Smart program is a public awareness campaign to promote year-round water conservation. It is jointly sponsored by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Water Development Board.

Texas Water Smart Program

Water Smart’s simple goals form the guidelines of our District’s direct action efforts:

  • Increase awareness of the need for water conservation year-round
  • Avoid or postpone the need for mandatory water rationing whenever possible
  • Enable the public to participate in water conservation efforts outside the home
  • Coordinate local water providers to carry out a regional public information campaign on water conservation and supply issues

Water Conservation links to other web sites and to PDF documents for download.

Related Sites
Lawn Conservation
Kitchen
Laundry
Bath
Water Conservation for Kids
Document Downloads

Xeriscaping – a PDF published by TAMU’s Agricultural Extension Service is a 16-page document describing the concepts and advantages to using residential xeriscaping in Texas.