Hurst Creek MUD

HURST CREEK
MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT

Address: 102 Trophy Drive
The Hills, Texas 78738
Phone: 512 261-6281
Fax: 512 261-4810

Calendar 2009

IMPORTANT NOTICES

HURST CREEK MUD DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN

The Hurst Creek MUD Board of Directors recently amended the District’s Water Conservation Plan to include the following provisions relating to voluntary and mandatory water conservation measures during periods of drought. These amendments are required by the District’s water sale contract with the LCRA and are effective July 2, 2009.

This summary highlights the major provisions of the plan. For the complete text of the Drought Contingency Plan, please Click here or request a printed copy from the District office at 102 Trophy Drive, The Hills, Texas 78738. Our telephone number is 261-6281.

The current combined capacity of Lakes Travis and Buchanan is 1.14 million acre-feet, so we are in Stage One – Mild Water Shortage Condition, and are requesting voluntary reduction in water use. For current lake levels and information please visit the LCRA’s website at www.lcra.org.

In the event of mandatory water restrictions, which may be necessary if the lake levels continue to fall, we will place signs at the entrances to The Hills, in addition to posting notice on the website and providing notice with the utility billings.

Water-Use Restriction Guidelines

Stage 1 – We ask for voluntary water conservation action to be observed by limiting irrigation to an every other day water schedule using even number addresses for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and odd number addresses for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday watering.

Stage 2 – Lawn watering is restricted to twice a week based on odd/even addresses. Even number addresses will be Monday, Thursday and odd number addresses will be Tuesday, Friday. Watering is not allowed between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Washing of paved or hard surface areas is not allowed.

Stage 3 – Lawn watering is restricted to once per week based on addresses. Addresses ending in 1 or 2 will water on Mondays. Addresses ending in 3 or 4 will water on Tuesdays. Addresses ending in 5 or 6 will water on Wednesdays. Addresses ending in 7 or 8 will water on Thursdays. Addresses ending in 9 or 0 will water on Fridays. Watering is not allowed between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Washing of paved or hard surface areas is not allowed. Washing of motor vehicles is permitted by hand and bucket only on designated water days and times.

Stage 4 – Irrigation of landscaped areas is prohibited.

Water Shortage Conditions Criteria Summary

Stage 1 – Mild Water Shortage Conditions (Voluntary Measures)
Requirement for initiation - One or more of the following:
a. Demand greater than 80% of treatment capacity for three days.
b. Demand greater than 85% of treatment capacity on single day.
c. Total stored capacity is less than 50% of total capacity for three days.
d. When combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis is less than 1.6 million acre-feet.

Stage 2 – Moderate Water Shortage Conditions (Mandatory Measures)
Requirement for initiation - One or more of the following:
a. Demand greater than 93% of treatment capacity for three days.
b. Demand greater than 95% of treatment capacity on single day.
c. When combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis is less than 900,000 acre-feet.

Stage 3 – Severe Water Shortage Conditions (Emergency Measures)
Requirement for initiation - One or more of the following:
a. Demand greater than 95% of treatment capacity for three days.
b. Demand greater than 97% of treatment capacity on single day.
c. When combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis is less than 600,000 acre-feet.

Stage 4 – Emergency Water Conditions
Requirement for initiation – Controlled by General Manager, may include:
a. Major water line breaks, loss of distribution pressure, or pump system failures that cause substantial loss in its ability to provide water service,
b. Natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source, or
c. Any other emergency water supply or demand issue the Hurst Creek MUD general manager or the Hurst Creek MUD Board determine to warrant the declaration of Stage 4.

Pro-Rata Curtailment of Water
Pro-rata curtailment of water will occur if the LCRA declares a drought worse than the drought of record in accordance with the LCRA Drought Contingency Plan.

Enforcement

When we observe violations of the water restriction guidelines, the following actions will occur:
First Violation – Customer is notified of actions to be taken if violations continue.

Second Violation – Issue surcharge of $200.

Third Violation – Issue surcharge of $700.

Fourth Violation – Cut off service. A $500 reconnection fee plus a deposit based on 125% of the maximum monthly bill over the past year will be required to reconnect service.

Hurst Creek Municipal Utility District (MUD) was created in 1979 to provide water, wastewater, drainage and irrigation service within its boundaries, which generally coincide with
The Village of The Hills.

Click-here to see a map of the District.

The District is governed by a five member Board of Directors elected by the residents.

Haskell Wotkyns, Jr. President	J.L. Hall Vice President	Jim Wingard Secretary	Raymond Arvay Assistant Secretary	Wilson Smith Treasurer

The MUD is a subdivision of the State of Texas, and is subject to the Texas Open Meetings and Records Act; notices of board meetings are posted 72 hours in advance, at the Travis County Courthouse and on the bulletin board at the The Hills offices. The meetings are open to the public, and your attendance at board meetings is encouraged. Generally, meetings are held monthly on the third Monday of the month, at 8:30 am, with special meetings called as necessary.

The following are summaries of the MUD’s chief functions:

	WATER

The District purchase Lake Travis water from the Lower Colorado River Authority pursuant to a 40 year water sale contract. This raw water is pumped via an 11,000 foot water line to the treatment facilities located at the 102 Trophy Drive. We currently have 3 million gallons per day (MGD) of treatment capacity. Additionally, we have interconnections with the Lakeway MUD and WCID #17 water systems, for use in emergencies.

The water system is rated as “Superior” by the Texas Commission On Environmental Quality, and was awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Excellence Award in 1991, as the best managed and operated public water system of its size in the five state EPA Region VI. All operators are certified by the state.

For the latest TCEQ Inspection report, Click-here.

Water quality greatly exceeds all State standards for chemical and bacteriological parameters, and is carefully monitored by computer and human testing. In the event of water quality problems, treatment failures or terrorism activities we will promptly alert the public with large signs at the gates, local media news casts and in this website. The District is a member of TxWARN, an industry-sponsored information network of public utilities and the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

A more technical description of water quality is available by Click-here.

Water conservation is an important issue, and the District has both a water conservation plan and a drought contingency plan. We urge our customers to use water wisely.

LCRA customer drought update February 28, 2009 Click-here

	WASTEWATER AND REUSE

Two parallel .25 MGD treatment plants, complete with filtration and disinfection, treat wastewater to a high degree of purity and store the effluent in a 55 MG storage pond for irrigation on the golf course. Located at the lowest point in the District, near the Hills golf course maintenance barn, these plants have an excellent operational record and no effluent is ever discharged into Hurst Creek.

For a more technical discussion of wastewater treatment, Click-here.

To view the District’s utility rate schedule, and a comparison with other area utilities, Click-here.

	DRAINAGE

In 2005, Hurst Creek MUD assumed responsibility from the Hills Property Owners’ Association for maintaining and improving drainage within The Hills. A master drainage engineering plan was prepared and rules and regulations adopted regarding the drainage system construction, maintenance and modifications.

Click-here to view the regulations.