DENTON, Texas — The city of Denton is considering escalating drought measures after multiple days of failing to return to threshold water levels in treatment facilities.
Wednesday, Denton officials announced Stage 2 drought measures will go into effect if water levels fail to return to normal. Right now, city residents are under Stage 1 measures, meaning people can only water their lawns and foundations or fill up their pools twice a week.
If city residents use 38 million gallons of water or more for three straight days, Stage 2 measures will go into effect, limiting irrigation to just once a week.
Denton officials are urging residents with automated sprinkler systems to adjust their scheduled irrigation times.
The drought measures have been in effect for nearly two weeks. The problem started when two filters were damaged at one of the city's water treatment facilities on July 26, putting a strain on the city's water supply. Since, Denton has failed to maintain normal water levels, and the two filters are still out of commission awaiting repairs.
This is not the first time Denton has gone into drought measures due to repairs. A similar incident occurred last summer after repairs needed to be done to the city's raw water lines.
Other North Texas cities have had water conservation issues as well due to booming populations, mainly within Rockwall County.