As published in Lake Travis View, week of December 21, 2017.

Winter Averaging calculations add usage incentives

We have had some cold cloudy weather so far this winter. With the chill in the air and the damp conditions, it is easy to forget about the fact that we are in beginning stages of a severe drought area wide. The boost in rain we were hoping to realize has failed to materialize at least so far this year. We are still hoping for some increased rainfall over the next few months, but there is no real reason for us to expect that to happen.

Lake levels continue to decrease gradually and inflows continue to remain below average. During the months of November through March there should be no outdoor watering. Winter averaging is from December through March, so be mindful of your water usage. This winter averaging calculates the wastewater volumetric that you will be charged for the next year. The drought is a serious matter and we ask that you please comply with this schedule to conserve our precious resource…WATER! We thank all of our customer base for the great cooperation we have had to date in adhering to the schedule; and, we also thank those citizens who have reported violations to us so that we could react and stop off schedule irrigation. For additional information on water saving tips and more please visit our website at www.lakewaymud.org.

Lakeway MUD serves over 10,000 people with water, wastewater and reuse water. In order to ensure that we have enough water, we have to be mindful of our water consumption. The reuse water that is used for irrigation is conservation at its best. It replaces 29% of potable water and allows us to gain beneficial reuse from the recycled water. We have been practicing beneficial reuse for over forty years there-by conserving valuable fresh water resources with the cooperation of our customers.

Construction is just about complete on our new reuse pump station. The new pump stations is over at our West plant off of Highlands Boulevard. This system is connected to the East side reuse system and delivers water year round. We have also upgraded our lift Station at the I-4 pond off of Clubhouse and added a third pump to the system.

Old Lakeway Septic Systems

Lakeway MUD gets calls every week from individuals in Old Lakeway whose houses are on septic tanks. Either their septic tank has failed, or they want to know about the possibility of a central wastewater system for other reasons. Sometimes leach fields may not be on the homeowner’s property. Some want to consider putting in a pool but don’t have room because of the leach field. We have been working on an education program and survey to see if there is sufficient interest to warrant further investigation of the possibilities of offering a community wastewater system to the Old Lakeway (out of District) areas. We have received a lot of feedback from the residences in some of these areas. I have also been working with LCRA on any residences in Old Lakeway that require a sales inspection. We will keep you informed of our progress.

Our board is made up of 5 elected individuals who are considered In District customers. We have an election coming up next year for two at-large positons. We will be posting information pertaining to the upcoming election on our website. If you are interested please call or email so we can get you the application and proper paperwork filled out during this sign up period.

Our new billing system is up and running. I believe we have worked out all of the bugs. I want to thank you for being patient with us during this change. Also, remember that everyone has an automated meter installed, so if you get a high bill and want to know what has happened to your usage, call us and we will provide a profile of your usage for the last couple of months ( up to 6 months). We did increase our upper billing tiers slightly. They are: 30,000 to 50,000 is $3.75; 50,001 to 80,000 is $4.30; 80,001 to 100,000 is $5.00; and Over 100,000 is $5.75.

This is to comply with our best management practices for conservation rates.

LMUD’s evolved brand identity is being rolled out on all LMUD materials, including vehicles, printed materials such as billing statements, and digital platforms such as the website and social media pages. For more information, visit www.lakewayMUD.org.

A big thank you to all of our customers for a great year. We have kept within budget on expenses for the fifth or sixth consecutive year. A big thanks for our office staff, water and wastewater operators and field staff. I really appreciate all of our customers and look forward to a great year in 2018.