City of Mckinney
While I was doing my research for this week’s article, I came across an alarming statistic from the EPA. Over the past 50 years, the U.S. population has doubled (and it feels like all of them have come to Texas) while the need for water has tripled. According to the EPA, at least 40 states anticipate water shortages by 2024. Think about it – that’s just 6 years away. If anyone has been paying attention to the news recently, California is the state that is feeling the need to conserve water the most. It’s gotten so bad in California that the governor has signed a pair of bills that will limit both outdoor and indoor water use with many scoffing at the idea of indoor water use being limited to 55 gallons of water per person used per day until 2022 and then it drops to 50 gallons. After reading about these laws, it made me wonder if a water shortage like this would ever hit Texas and how can we prevent it from happening. One of the ways that cities are combating water shortages from occurring is to encourage water conservation by offering workshops, rebates, and imposing watering restrictions. Last week, we focused on Frisco. Let’s take a look at McKinney.
In McKinney, the current restrictions in place are that you can water on your trash day and then three days later, if needed, but not during the hours between 10am – 6pm. With restrictions in place, how can you still have a beautiful yard? The city recommends to always water during the coolest part of the day, water in multiple short cycles rather than in one long cycle, keeping up to day on irrigation system maintenance and repairs, and watering as needed based upon the weather. They also recommend a WaterSmart (ET) device for your irrigation system which can not only save you money, but give you a rebate back! Unfortunately, this rebate is not applicable to new systems being installed as these systems should already have this technology. The goal of this program is to encourage having a more efficient irrigation system that will activate only when necessary. For more information, please visit www.mckinneytexas.org/517/ET-Controller-Rebate. You can also get money back from the city if you have a Rain/Freeze sensor installed on your irrigation system. It works exactly as it sounds – sensors are mounted outside and are activated by rainfall or freezing temperatures. When the sensor kicks on, it will prevent your system from operating and will resume normal operating procedures once the weather returns to normal. For more information, please visit www.mckinneytexas.org/519/Rain-Freeze-Sensor-Rebate.
I want to encourage each one of our readers to do their part in conserving water. A great source of information on water conservation as well as keeping up to date on water conditions is the North Texas Municipal Water District ( www.ntmed.com). On their site, you can find helpful tips in conserving water, take quizzes to test your water knowledge, and so much more. I encourage you to check it out! Join us next week as we travel north to check out what Prosper and Celina are doing to encourage their residents to conserve water. As always, we want to see how you are conserving water! Share your tips with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You can always contact us via email at email@example.com or via phone at 972-562-4444. Enjoy your week, and Happy First Day of Summer!