SHORTAGES AND EMERGENCIES

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 47, art. VII, div. 2

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-251 Stage one water shortage; abnormal conditions; voluntary restrictions targeted to reduce overall water use by five percent.

Sec. 47-251. - Stage one water shortage; abnormal conditions; voluntary restrictions targeted to reduce overall water use by five percent. (a) A stage one water shortage is a period of time that begins when the director finds that the city's water supply system is under stress because of lower than average annual rainfall, temperatures that are higher or lower than normal, or other circumstances. (b) The director's declaration, which may cover all or a portion of the city's water supply system, shall be in writing and filed with the city secretary. The declaration shall state that the city's overall water use reduction goal during a stage one water shortage is five percent. A stage one water shortage ends when the director finds that the abnormal conditions leading to the declaration either no longer exist, have been mitigated, or have been escalated, and the director files a written declaration to that effect with the city secretary. (c) City departments' water use reduction plans shall be implemented immediately upon the declaration of a stage one water shortage period and shall remain in effect until the conclusion of the water shortage period. (d) During a stage one water shortage, unless otherwise stated in the declaration, all customers are requested to take the following voluntary water use restriction measures: (1) Check for and repair all leaks, dripping faucets, and running toilets; (2) Check for and correct excessive irrigation or uncorrected leaks that result in city water leaving the customer's property by drainage onto adjacent properties or public or private roadways or streets or gutters; and (3) Irrigate between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day on no more than two days per week in conformity with the following schedule: a. Sundays and Thursdays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses; and b. Saturdays and Wednesdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses; and c. Tuesdays and Fridays for all other customers. (Ord. No. 2012-997, § 2(Exh. A), 11-14-2012)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-252 Stage two water shortage; severe conditions; certain mandatory restrictions targeted to reduce overall water use by ten percent.

Sec. 47-252. - Stage two water shortage; severe conditions; certain mandatory restrictions targeted to reduce overall water use by ten percent. (a) A stage two water shortage is a period of time that begins when, upon the recommendation of the director, the mayor declares a stage two water shortage upon finding that one or more of the following conditions exist that may impact all or a portion of the city's water supply system: (1) Combined total storage of surface water supply is less than 24 months based on a calculated projection of monthly production of city water that includes historic production and information provided by customers; (2) Combined total storage of surface water supply is less than 16 months, based on a calculated projection of current water production for the most recent 24-hour period; (3) Current water production is 80 percent of the available treatment capacity; (4) Loss of approximately 20 percent of available treatment capacity; or (5) Water pressure readings of 45 pounds per square inch or less throughout all or material portions of the city's treated water distribution system. (b) The declaration may cover all or a portion of the city's water supply system and shall be in writing and filed with the city secretary. The declaration shall state that the city's overall water use reduction goal during a stage two water shortage is ten percent. A stage two water shortage ends when the mayor declares, based on the recommendation from the director, that the severe conditions leading to the declaration either no longer exist, have been mitigated, or have been escalated, and the director files a written declaration to that effect with the city secretary. (c) City departments' water use reduction plans shall be implemented immediately upon the declaration of a stage two water shortage period and shall remain in effect until the conclusion of the water shortage period. (d) During a stage two water shortage, unless otherwise stated in the declaration, all classes of customers are subject to mandatory restrictions of outdoor use. During a stage two water shortage, outdoor use shall be unlawful with the exception of the following time periods as specified in the declaration: (1) Between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day on no more than two days per week in conformity with the following schedule: a. Sundays and Thursdays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses; and b. Saturdays and Wednesdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses; and c. Tuesdays and Fridays for all other customers; or (2) Between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day on no more than one day per week in conformity with the following schedule: a. Saturdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered addresses; b. Sundays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered addresses; and c. Tuesdays for all other customers. (e) Any outdoor water use that results in city water leaving the customer's property by drainage onto adjacent properties or public or private roadways or streets or gutters shall be unlawful. (Ord. No. 2012-997, § 2(Exh. A), 11-14-2012)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-253 Stage three water shortage; extreme conditions; mandatory reductions targeted to reduce overall water use by 20 percent.

Sec. 47-253. - Stage three water shortage; extreme conditions; mandatory reductions targeted to reduce overall water use by 20 percent. (a) A stage three water shortage is a period of time that begins when, upon the finding of the director of an extreme shortage and the recommendation of the mayor, the city council declares a stage three water shortage upon finding that one or more of the following conditions exist that may impact all or a portion of the city's water supply system: (1) Combined total storage of surface water supply is less than 18 monthsbased on a calculated projection of monthly production of city water that includes historic production and information provided by customers; (2) Combined total storage of surface water supply is less than 12 months, based on a calculated projection of current water production for the most recent 24-hour period; (3) Current water production is 85 percent of the available treatment capacity; (4) Loss of approximately 25 percent of available treatment capacity; or (5) Water pressure readings of 40 pounds per square inch or less throughout all or material portions of the city's treated water distribution system. (b) The declaration may cover all or a portion of the city's water supply system and shall be in writing and filed with the city secretary. The declaration shall state that the city's overall water use reduction goal during a stage three water shortage is 20 percent. A stage three water shortage ends when, upon the recommendations of the director and the mayor, the city council finds that the extreme conditions leading to the declaration either no longer exist, have been mitigated, or have been escalated, and the city council files a written declaration to that effect with the city secretary. (c) City departments' water use reduction plans shall be implemented immediately upon the declaration of a stage three water shortage period and shall remain in effect until the conclusion of the water shortage period. (d) During a stage three water shortage, all outdoor use shall be unlawful except that customers may use city water to continue production and protect inventory of their primary business products. (e) Immediately upon the declaration of a stage three water shortage, the city may claim force majeure to all of its existing water service contracts consistent with the terms of such water service contracts and in accordance with applicable state law. (Ord. No. 2012-997, § 2(Exh. A), 11-14-2012)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-254 Stage four water shortage; exceptional conditions; mandatory rationing of city water targeted to reduce overall water use by 35 percent.

Sec. 47-254. - Stage four water shortage; exceptional conditions; mandatory rationing of city water targeted to reduce overall water use by 35 percent. (a) A stage four water shortage is a period of time that begins when, upon the finding of the director of an exceptional shortage, and the recommendation of the mayor, the city council declares a stage four water shortage upon finding that one or more of the following conditions exist that may impact all or a portion of the city's water supply system: (1) Combined total storage of surface water supply is less than 12 months, based on a calculated projection of monthly production of city water that includes historic production and information provided by customers; (2) Combined total storage of surface water supply is less than six months, based on a calculated projection of current water production for the most recent 24-hour period; (3) Current water production is 90 percent of the available treatment capacity; or (4) Water pressure readings of 35 pounds per square inch or less throughout all or material portions of the city's treated water distribution system. (b) The declaration may cover all or a portion of the city's water supply system and shall be in writing and filed with the city secretary. The declaration shall state that the city's overall water use reduction goal during a stage four water shortage is 35 percent. A stage four water shortage ends when, upon the recommendations of the director and the mayor, the city council finds that the exceptional conditions leading to the declaration either no longer exist or have been mitigated, and the city council files a written declaration to that effect with the city secretary. (c) City departments' water use reduction plans shall be implemented immediately upon the declaration of a stage four water shortage period and shall remain in effect until the conclusion of the water shortage period. (d) During a stage four water shortage, the following acts or omissions shall be unlawful: (1) All outdoor use; (2) Use of more than 4,000 gallons of city water per month by single-family residential customers; (3) Use of more than 4,000 gallons of city water per month (used per unit, as provided in section 47-71 of this Code) by multifamily residential customers; and (4) For all customers other than residential customers, failure to reduce use of city water by 15 percent of baseline usage, or any other percentage if recommended by the director and adopted by city council in the stage four water shortage declaration. (e) During a stage four water shortage, the director may authorize a ten percent rate reduction for water usage to customers for reductions of city water use by 20 percent or more than those restrictions set forth in subsection (d) , except that the ten percent rate reduction shall not be available to customers whose average monthly usage during the preceding 12-month period was less than 4,000 gallons. The rate reduction for water usage shall be effective for the duration of the existing water shortage period. (f) Immediately upon the declaration of a stage four water shortage, the city may claim force majeure to all of its existing water service contracts consistent with the terms of such water service contracts and in accordance with applicable state law. (Ord. No. 2012-997, § 2(Exh. A), 11-14-2012)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-255 Emergency water shortage.

Sec. 47-255. - Emergency water shortage. (a) An emergency water shortage is a period of time that begins when the director finds that there is an imminent threat to the capability of the city's water supply system to provide adequate service to assure the health or safety of the public, such as may result from a natural disaster, act of war or terrorism, or catastrophic system accident or failure. The declaration of a water emergency must be subsequently ratified within ten days following its declaration by the city council. An emergency water shortage ends when, upon the recommendation of the director, the city council finds that the conditions leading to the declaration no longer exist. (b) During an emergency water shortage all provisions of sections 47-252, 47-253, and 47-254 shall apply. (Ord. No. 2012-997, § 2(Exh. A), 11-14-2012)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH47WASE_ARTVIIWASH_DIV2SHEMFetched: 10/26/2026