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Blanco Director of Public Works Nathan Cantrell announced on Tuesday that the amount of water in the Blanco River for water use by the city of Blanco is only enough for two to three more weeks, based on current usage.

Although the city has taken only 20 to 30 percent of its water from Canyon Lake so far this summer, as of now all its water will come from the lake. Cantrell says that this arrangement will work as long as the Canyon Lake area is still at Level 1 Drought Stage.

Pulling water from the Blanco River above the dam is not an option at this time, since the river was recently drained to perform dredging operations in that area.

The Stage One Drought Regulations, which are now in place in Blanco, stress voluntary conservation and minimal watering of yards, preferably at night when evaporation is less.

Cantrell also stressed, “Save water—fix leaks” as a way to conserve.

He said that city employees observe leaks whenever they are out cutting weeds on city right-of-ways.

He urged residents to call the city immediately if they observe a leak in a water line.

On June 29, Mayor Tina Gourley declared the City of Blanco to be in Stage 1 of the Emergency Water Management Plan.

Stage 1 calls for voluntary conservation. In order to be declared a Stage 1, the city has had to have been without appreciable rainfall and more dry weather forecasted, or when water over the Plant dam slows to 10% of average flow.

Customers or persons who use the water utility of the city are requested to limit the amount of water used year round to what is absolutely necessary for health, business, and outdoor use.

During Stage 1, no penalties will be imposed upon users who do not abide by the suggestions; reminders will be placed in the local newspaper each week.

Suggested watering schedule is as follows:

Customers with even-numbered addresses water on Sundays and Thursdays, between 8:00pm and 8:00am only. Customers with odd-numbered addresses water on Saturdays and Wednesdays, between 8:00pm and 8:00am only.