Cedar Park and Leander outdoor watering can resume after pipeline repair

Apart from preventing an influx of unwanted pests and animals, some motion-activated sprinklers with a powerful water jet proved to be especially effective in frightening overnight bandits.

by: Jaclyn Ramkissoon

Posted: Oct 3, 2022 / 12:55 PM CDT

Updated: Oct 3, 2022 / 12:56 PM CDT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Residents in some Austin-area cities can resume outdoor watering on a limited schedule Monday, after it was completely restricted due to a pipeline repair.

In Cedar Park, customers can return to outdoor watering on their two designated days per week. Restrictions banning irrigation systems and hose-end sprinklers have been lifted, according to the city.

Here’s a breakdown of Cedar Park’s designated watering days:

Odd residential addresses (ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9): Wednesdays and Saturdays
Even residential addresses (ending in 2, 4, 6, 8 or 0): Thursdays and Sundays
Commercial addresses (including HOA common areas and apartment complexes): Tuesdays and Fridays
Irrigation hours: Before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m.

The heavy restrictions were put in place in early September due to a leak in an underwater line in Lake Travis. That line is part of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority water treatment plant, which supplies about 20% of Cedar Park’s treated water, according to the city. The plant is the city’s secondary water treatment plant.

Because of the line repair, the treatment plant had to be taken offline, so that’s when Cedar Park depended solely on its own water treatment plant. That’s why restrictions and water conservation efforts were in effect, especially since the city said lawn irrigation is the largest source of water use in Cedar Park.

The city said crews are on track to repair the BCRUA line by its planned date — Tuesday.

Leander watering schedule

City of Leander customers are now back to a once-a-week watering schedule starting Monday, according to a release from the city. Unlike Cedar Park, the BCRUA water treatment plant is Leander’s primary source for drinking water.

The other source of water for Leander is the Sandy Creek Water Treatment Plant, which only has a capacity of 9 million gallons a day. The summer water use average before for the city was twice that.

However, the City of Leander highlighted residents’ conservation efforts, saying customers averaged 7.2 million gallons a day just before and during pipeline repairs.

Here’s a breakdown of the irrigation schedules now in place for Leander, which are part of its Phase Two water conservation efforts. Irrigation is only allowed before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on designated watering days.

Residential addresses (based on ended street address number)