by carla gray
carla@themonitor.net

CEDAR CREEK LAKE‑Texas heat can be brutal during the dog days of summer, taking a toll on lake levels. With Henderson, Kaufman and Van Zandt counties under a burn ban and the Cedar Creek lake level low, water usage is now being restricted. 
The City of Mabank and West Cedar Creek Municipal Utility District (WCCMUD) have implemented water restrictions, with no rain in sight for the next month and heat continuing to be in the triple digits.
The City of Mabank began implementing stage 1 water restrictions Aug. 7. According to the citys website, Mabank has initiated mandatory restrictions that prohibit non-essential water use such as outdoor watering with sprinklers between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The restrictions also prohibit using water in such a manner as to allow runoff, or other waste including not fixing a leak, operating failure, operating a permanently installed irrigation system that has broken sprinkler heads, out of adjustment sprinklers or is missing heads, pipes, or faucets. The restrictions also prohibit allowing irrigation water to pool more than a 1/4 of an inch on any surface, and allowing runoff to form a stream of water that extends further than a distance of 50 feet. Check out all of Mabank’s water restrictions on the city website: cityofmabanktx.org.
As of Aug. 10, WCCMUD had implemented stage 4 of its Drought Contingency Plan, which addresses severe water shortage conditions, according to the document. These restrictions are effective immediately, according to a letter to customers posted on the WCCMUD website, wccmud.com. 
The WCCMUD Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan says customers are limited to odd-even watering days between the hours midnight and 10 a.m. and between 8 p.m. and midnight. Also, restaurants are prohibited from serving water to their patrons except when requested. All stages of The Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan found at wccmud.com incorporate the restrictions of each previous stage. Stage 5, which the MUD considers critical instead of extreme, shortage would kick in when the total daily usage of WCCMUD customers exceeds 4.22 MGD (million gallons of water per day) and the MUDs storage does not refill above 50% capacity overnight. Also, if the lake level falls six feet below full that would also trigger stage 5, according to the MUD’s plan. 
According to Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), as of Aug. 11, website, trwd.com, Cedar Creek Lake is 4.27 feet below full, which is 78.8% of the lakes storage capacity. That is 2% lower than Aug. 5.
For more information on water restrictions, contact your water district or your citys water department.