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Template News Release for Drought Information

This template news release is provided for the convenience of cities and water systems wishing to issue drought information, as not all will have communications assistance.

For maximum distribution of your news release, try to keep text to one page. Feel free to modify to suit your specific situation.

(Insert City Name here) News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Insert date here)
(Insert contact information here)

Drought conditions are widespread across the state. (insert City Name here) is experiencing (insert moderate, severe, extreme, or exceptional) drought conditions and encourages all citizens to help conserve our precious water resources.

Our water system is under Stage (insert stage number) water-use restrictions. This means that water use is restricted in the following ways: (delete any that do not apply, or add your own)

Voluntary Restrictions:

  • Customers are encouraged to limit nonessential water use to prevent further restrictions.
  • Customers are specifically encouraged to limit watering for landscape use, and to only water after 6 p.m. and before 10 a.m. (or insert your more stringent limits here)

Outdoor Restrictions:

  • Usage of water for outdoor purposes, such as lawns, gardens, and car washing, is restricted to _______ time(s) per week.
  • Outdoor water use is not allowed between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m (or insert your own schedule here). All outdoor water usage is prohibited except by hand-held hoses with manual on and off nozzles.
  • Usage of water for car washing is restricted to commercial- and mobile-car washes only.
  • Washing motor vehicles and filling pools are only allowed on a customer’s designated watering day.
  • Washing motor vehicles and filling pools are prohibited.
  • Washing of sidewalks, driveways, and other hard surfaces is prohibited.

Additional Restrictions:

  • All controllable leaks must be repaired within a reasonable time.
  • Using water from hydrants is restricted to activities related to firefighting or maintaining the public's health, safety, and welfare.
  • Flushing gutters or permitting water to accumulate or run on the roadway is prohibited.
  • Restaurants can only serve water when it's requested by a customer.

For updates on water-use restrictions, visit (insert city/water system website).

General Water Conservation Tips

Customers are encouraged to reduce their water usage as much as possible. Try following a few of the following tips:

  • About 50 percent of water used outdoors is wasted due to improper installation, maintenance, and use of watering systems. To make sure you get the most out of watering your lawn and garden, have your system inspected each year by a licensed irrigator to ensure proper operation.
  • Install inexpensive faucet aerators to cut in half the amount of water used by each faucet.
  • Check your faucets, and fix any leak you find. Faucet leaks can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water a year.
  • Test your toilet for leaks; a leaking toilet can waste up to 73,000 gallons of water a year. To test, add a few drops of food coloring or a dye tablet to the water in the tank, but do not flush the toilet. Watch to see if the coloring appears in the bowl within a few minutes. If it does, the toilet has a silent leak that needs to be repaired.
  • Look for water-efficient models when replacing plumbing fixtures or appliances. A water-efficient clothes washer uses 50 percent less water than a conventional model. Water-efficient plumbing fixtures can reduce water use by 25 to 60 percent.

For more information on the drought, and to find available resources, visit the TCEQ's Drought Information Web Page. For more ways to save water, visit TakeCareOfTexas.org .