Water Wise Denton

Lake Lewisville water levels are now down to 83.7%, having dropped from 92.4% just one month prior.

Built in 1955, Lake Lewisville is one of the two water sources for Denton.

Did you know that fall is the best time to plant fruit trees in North Texas? Because our summers are so hot, planting a fruit tree in spring often does not give the tree an opportunity to grow and establish deep roots for drought tolerance before the heat sets in. Planting in fall allows the tree to grow deep roots, go through dormancy in winter, then awaken with the rest of the earth in spring to continue to grow roots, taking full advantage of the entire spring season. A great choice for fruit tree is the pomegranate tree. Native to the desert, this fruit tree thrives on little care and in extreme heat and drought conditions. In the event we have to go into watering restrictions, the pomegranate will still thrive , even under the most restricted outdoor watering.

We have hit a new demand high of 41.9 MGD, which is only .6 MGD shy of the stage 1 drought restriction trigger. Please conserve and irrigate only when you absolutely must, no more than twice a week and only between 6pm and 10am.

Around Labor Day, us North Texans know that better days are just around the corner. To say we are ready for the cooler temperatures of fall is an understatement. The lakes would agree with us. Lake Levels continue to drop, Ray Roberts is down 5% and Lewisville is down 16%. We won't likely need to put watering restrictions in place due to lake levels this year, but we continue to get close to demand based restrictions. Please hang in there and continue to use water wisely so that we can avoid restrictions.

Denton pulls water from both lake Lewisville and lake Ray Roberts. Ray Roberts has decreased by 5% over the last 3 months, Lake Lewisville has decreased by by 14.6% over the last 3 months. Please continue to conserve. For More information on our lake levels visit Water data for Texas at: https://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/statewide

As we continue to get closer to stage 1 drought restrictions, we want to encourage our customers to save water and limit landscape watering to trees, shrubs and plants no more than twice weekly. Green grass is not sustainable in this heat.

We are urging residents to conserve. Yesterday we used 41.6 million gallons of water. A new record high. Please avoid washing cars at home, and please remember to water no more than twice a week.

What is a water footprint?

A water footprint is the amount of produced water used to produce an item, good or service. Produced water is water that has been removed from a water source, such as a well or lake, and treated for use. It does not include rainwater.

What are the footprints of some everyday items:

- 1 cup of coffee = 37 Gallons of Water

- 1 pair of blue jeans = 2642 Gallons of Water

- 1 single pasta noodle = 1/2 Gallon of Water

- 1 smartphone = 240 Gallons of Water

- 1 disposable diaper = 144 Gallons of Water

How can these items require so much water?

Many of these items need water to be grown, produced, manufactured and transported. Beef, for example, which takes 4068 gallons to produce 2 lbs, requires water not only for the cattle, but for the grain grown to feed the cattle, manufacture and transport.

Becoming aware of your water footprint is a great place to start building awareness of just how much water we REALLY use.

Yesterday a new record high water usage was hit, as demand reached 40.54 MGD. Please continue to conserve, irrigate no more than twice a week, as we get through the last few weeks of high temperatures.

This time of year many of us reflect back fondly to just 2 months ago when we had lush gardens and green lawns. While the earth outside more closely resembles burnt toast, we start to daydream about October, when Summer has said its farewell and things in North Texas Spring to life again. Fall, and particularly October, is the best time to plant perennials to ensure a strong root system that can survive the next summer's heat is developed.

The following list of low maintenance, Drought Tolerant Perennials will set your yard up for success next summer

Ajuga, Artemisia, Baby's Breath, Baptisia, Bee balm, Black-Eyed Susan, Butterfly Weed, Candytuft, Chrysanthemum, Columbine, Coneflower, Corabells, Coreopsis, Daylily, Gaillardia, Gaura, Gazania, Gerbera daisy, Goldenrod, Hardy Ice plant, Hellebores, Hosta, Iris, Lamb's Ears, Lantana, Liatris, Lily of the Nile, Mexican Sunflower, Peony, Perovskia, Phlox, Red Hot Poker, Salvia, Sedum, Shasta Daisy, Stokes' Aster, Verbascum, Verbena, Veronica, Yarrow.