Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutReporter August 2014©CityofGeorgetown,2014 VOL.11•NO.8 APublicationoftheCityofGeorgetown August2014 LakeStillhousebyapipelinetobe constructedinthefuture.Those surfacewatersuppliesaremanaged bytheBrazosRiverAuthority,who workswiththecitiesofGeorgetown andRoundRocktobuildinfrastruc- tureprojectsinordertoaccommo- datefuturewaterdemand. Wateravailablefornewgrowthwas acquiredbycurrentcustomerson behalfoffuturecustomersthatare nothereyet.Thishasbeenthestan- dardsincetheearly1980sandisin largepartthereasonthatSunCity andothersuchdevelopmentsselect- edGeorgetown. Evenwiththesupplycurrentlyavail- able,Texaswillperiodicallygo throughextendedperiodsof ByJimBriggs Droughtconditionsofrecentyears coupledwithsignificantpopulation growthhaveledsometotheidea thatGeorgetownis“runningoutof water.”Thisideamaybespurredby seeingtheCity’seffortstoencour- agewaterconservation.However, I’dliketoexplainwhyGeorgetown hassufficientwatersupplyforfuture growthandhowconservation effortsfitintothispicture. Currently,Georgetown’sCitywater utilityprovideswatertoabout 62,000peoplewhouseapproxi- mately15,000acre-feetofwater eachyear.(Anacre-footisthe amountofwatertocoveranacreat thedepthofonefoot,orabout 325,851gallons.)TheCityof Georgetownhas40,000acre-feetof waterundercontractoverthenext 50years.Thisisenoughwaterto serveabout150,000people. Reducingpercapitadailyusefrom thecurrent218gallonstothetarget of160gallonsmakesgoodsense andshouldallowustoserveaneven largerpopulation. Inadditiontogroundwaterfrom theEdwardsAquifer,Georgetown’s watersupplycomesfromLake GeorgetownandtwolakesinBell County:StillhouseHollowLakeand LakeBelton.WaterfromStillhouse flowstoGeorgetownthrougha waterpipelineconstructedmore than10yearsago.Thewaterfrom LakeBeltonwillmakeitswayto Ajointefforttotrapmosquitoes, identifypotentialriskfromWestNile Virus,andinformresidentscontin- uesthissummerinGeorgetown. TheCityofGeorgetownandthe WilliamsonCountyandCities HealthDistrictstartedtrapping mosquitoesinearlyMay. Eachweek,trapsareplacedindiffer- entlocationsinGeorgetownand takentoTexasDepartmentofState HealthServiceslabinAustinfor analysis.Resultsarepostedtothe HealthDistrictwebsiteat www.wcchd.org.Trappingand labanalysiswillcontinuethrough thefall. CatherineZettelNalen,amosquito managementspecialistwiththe HealthDistrict,emphasizedtherole WCCHDemployeesCatherineZettelNalenandRebeccaPetrocollect mosquitosfromatrapandrecorddata. drought,interruptedbyperiodsof excessiverain.Thathasbeenrecord- edthroughhistoryforthisregion. Duringthoseperiodsofdrought, suchaswearecurrentlyexperienc- ing,measurestoconserveandpro- tectcurrentsuppliesareinorder. Thisdoesn’tmeanthatlong-term supplyisnotavailable,onlythatthe currentsupplyneedstobemanaged tomeetcurrentdemand. Thesetwoelementsarethekeyto ourwatermanagementstrategy— wiseuseofexistingdevelopedsup- plieswhileplanningforthelong- termsupplytomeetthedemand fromcontinuedgrowth. JimBriggsisthegeneralmanager ofutilitiesforGeorgetownUtility Systems. MosquitoTeam AimstoZap WestNileRisk Forrainbarrelsorlow-lyingareas, ZettelNalensuggestedlarvicides suchasmosquitodunksthatare availableathardwarestores.The dunkscontainbacteriathatkills mosquitoes,butisharmlesstopeo- ple,pets,fish,wildlife,orother insects. TheCityandHealthDistrict continuetopromotethesefour stepstoreducemosquitopopu- lationsandFighttheBite: DawnandDuskaretimesto stayindoorswhenmosquitoesare mostactive. Dressinlongsleevesandpants whenoutdoors(especiallyatdawn ordusk). Drainstandingwaterinflower pots,petdishes,orcloggedgutters somosquitosdon’thaveaplaceto breed. Defendagainstmosquitobites withanEPA-approvedinsect repellant. Formoreinformation,visitthe WilliamsonCountyandCities HealthDistrictwebsiteat www.wcchd.org. WaterSupplyProvidesforFutureGrowth eachresidentplaysinreducingmos- quito-breedingareas.“Checkyour yardsandemptyanycontainerthat canholdwater,”shesaid.Thatcan includecloggedgutters,wheelbar- rows,drainpipes,ortoysleftinthe yard.Birdbathsandplantsaucers shouldbeemptiedtwiceweekly topreventtheformationof mosquitolarvae. Discoverthelatestnewsaboutthecityat www.georgetown.org AugustEvents FarmersMarkets SunCityMarket,Tuesdays 9a.m.toNoon, 2TexasDriveatSocialCenter GeorgetownMarket,Thursdays 3:30-6:30p.m.,Churchof Christ,1525W.UniversityAve. Detailsatwww.gtfma.org WolfRanchFarmersMarket, Saturdays9a.m.to1p.m., WolfRanchTownCenter, 1015W.UniversityAvenue, WolfRanchFarmersMarket.com. ThePalaceTheater Buddy—TheBuddyHollyStory, June27–August3 TheFullMonty, August22–Sept.21 Detailsat GeorgetownPalace.com,orcall (512)869-7469. FirstFriday,August1 Downtownlivemusic,shops,and restaurantsareopenlate.Seethe DGAwebsiteat TheGeorgetownSquare.com. MarketDays,August9 Handmadeartsandcrafts,food, andmoreontheSquarefrom9 a.m.to4p.m.Detailsat TheGeorgetownSquare.com. MoviesinthePark, August14 ParksandRecreationwillbe showingthe LegoMovie (PG-13) startingat8:45p.m.Thisfree familyeventwithfreepopcornis atthegazeboinSanGabriel Park. AWaterQualityReportwas mailedtoCityofGeorgetown watercustomersinMay.Thefol- lowingisanaddendumtothat reportwithadditionalsampling resultsforGeorgetowndrinking water. The GeorgetownCityReporter isa publicationoftheCityofGeorgetown PublicCommunicationsDepartment, P.O.Box409,Georgetown,Texas,78627. Forquestionsorcomments,contactKeith Hutchinson,publiccommunications manager,at(512)930-3690orbyemail atkeith.hutchinson@georgetown.org. WaterQualityReportAddendum SummerConcerts Musiconthe Square TheMusicontheSquaresummer concertseriescontinuesonFriday nightsfrom6:30p.m.to8:30p.m. Here’stheAugustlineup: Aug.1:LoneStarSwingBand Aug.8:NotPast11JazzBand Aug.15:EscapeBandplaying ClassicRock Aug.22:WoundLooseBand playingRock,Country andElectricBlues Aug.29:Franklin’sTowerplaying UpbeatBluegrass Concertsaresponsoredbythe GeorgetownConventionand VisitorsBureau,Williamson Museum,andtheDowntown GeorgetownAssociation. TheGeorgetownMainStreetProgramunveilednewpublicartworkonMay 29.AmuralonMainStreetacrossfromGraceHeritageCenterdepictsbuild- ingsontheCourthouseSquare.PicturedareDavidKellerman,chairofthe MainStreetAdvisoryBoard,andAnnaSebesta,themuralartist. UnregulatedContaminantMonitoringRule(UCMR3Rule)* *UnregulatedcontaminantsarethoseforwhichEPAhasnotestab- lisheddrinkingwaterstandards.Thepurposeofunregulatedcontami- nantmonitoringistoassistEPAindeterminingtheoccurrenceof unregulatedcontaminantsindrinkingwaterandwhetherfuture The2013WaterQualityreportisavailableonlineatwater.georgetown.org. SubstanceYearAverageRangeofTypicalSource Sampled Detections Chlorate(ppb)2013374ND-1400Agriculturaldefoliantordesiccant;disinfetion byproduct;andusedinproductionofchlorine dioxide. Chromium20130.30ND–0.44Naturallyoccurringelement;usedinmaking (ppb)steelandotheralloys;usedforchromeplating, dyes,andpigments,leathertanning,and woodpreservation Chromium(VI)20130.21ND–0.27Naturallyoccurringelement;usedinmaking steelandotheralloys;usedforchromeplating, dyes,andpigments,leathertanning,and woodpreservation Molybdenum20130.19ND–2.2Naturally-occurringelementfoundinoresand (ppb)presentinplants,animals,andbacteria; commonlyusedformmolybdnumtrioxide usedasachemicalreagent. Strontium2013393120-980Naturally-occurringelement;historically, (ppb)commercialuseofstrontiumhasbeen inthefaceplateglassofcathode-ray tubetelevisionstoblockx-rayemissions. Vanadium20132.21.4-3Naturally-occurringelementalmetal; (ppb)usedasvanadiumpentoxidewhichisa chemicalintermediateandacatalyst. regulationiswarranted.Amaximumcontaminantlevel(MCL)forthese substanceshasnotbeenestablishedbyeitherstateorfederalregula- tions,norhasmandatoryhealtheffectslanguage.(ND=notdetected; ppb=partsperbillion)