Memo

From: General Manager

I wanted to update the members on where we are regarding capacity and water reserves in Lake Stillhouse.  The lake level (elevation) is 3 feet lower than this time last year.  We have implemented our revised Drought Contingency Plan, which the board has approved, and it will be submitted to PUC and TCEQ for their approval.  We will post it on our website as soon as the growth number study for new connections is complete.  We have established new triggers on the lake level that start the drought stages, and those stages are based on how much water we think we have left as it relates to the number of days we have left. 

The level at Lake Stillhouse is 604.9 feet as of today, March 15, 2024. Stage II triggers at 604 feet, this is the stage we are currently in due to BRA being in Stage II.  Stage III will trigger when the lake level reaches 602 feet, this will likely happen soon.  Stage IV will trigger at 579.5 feet leaving us with 180 days of water left.  At that point, TCEQ will be notified so they can help identify alternate water sources, though we already know what those sources are.

If the situation escalates to the point that, due to lake levels, we cannot make water at our plant, we can get emergency water from Bell County WCID1.  The emergency connection allows us an additional 10 feet of water from their intake.  In the worst-case scenario, we can pull water from Central Texas WSC at their Doc Curb plant that draws water from the BRA intake (the same intake for Georgetown).  CTWSC also has an interconnection with the City of Killeen, and they can provide some water.  We are also negotiating a connection with Copperas Cove that will occur when the new neighborhood at the road extension on Big Divide and HWY 190 is built, that connection will supply water from Lake Belton. 

In short, KWSC has a plan for the drought and severe conditions even beyond our Drought Contingency Plan.  It may require our members to significantly limit their water use during severe conditions, but we do not expect to run out of water.  This past summer, we discovered that refraining from irrigation cut our water usage considerably and allowed KWSC to continue supplying its members with water.