Around 800 warnings given out this year so far for Lubbock water restrictions

LUBBOCK, Texas — Every April, the City of Lubbock implements water restrictions to conserve water. So far this year, around 800 warnings and just under 10 citations have been given to residents.

In the last 15 to 20 years, the city has gone from using 85 million gallons of water a day to 54 million gallons. Based off those numbers, this conservation plan has made a huge difference.

There are specific days set out for residents to water their lawns, and it depends on the last digit of the address. For those days, visit the city’s website here. No one is allowed to water on Sunday, as that gives the water department’s system a chance to re-stabilize.

Watering between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. is also not allowed, because that’s during the peak heat of the day when evaporation occurs the most.

When watering though, it’s easy to over do it. Aubrey Spear, Water Utilities Director, said there’s a way to tell when it’s too much.

“Are you seeing runoff? If there’s water running off the sidewalk and down the gutter, you’re overwatering. And you can water or irrigate in small amounts of time for each zone, maybe five or 10 minutes,” he explained.

Spear said Lubbock is one of the first cities in the state of Texas to go year-round in water conservation efforts.

“Water conservation is our cheapest form of water we’ll ever get,” Spear said. “Plus, today, how does it help any of our customers? Well, all they have to do is see the bill.”

If someone does end up getting a citation, it is possible to have it dismissed, depending on the situation. Spear said anyone with questions can contact 806-775-3596 or visit water.mylubbock.us