UPDATE ON WATER PLANT AND WATER USAGE RESTRICTIONS

This message is intended to provide an update to the customers of Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 105 (“District”) regarding the events that led to imposing the recent water usage restrictions and the anticipated timeline for lifting those water usage restrictions.

  • Background.
    • On Friday, April 12th, a water well failure occurred at the District’s water plant facility, resulting from bearings within the well “locking up” and causing significant damage to other equipment within the well.
    • Immediately following the well failure, the District’s water operator, MDS, took action to allow for District customers to receive water supply from the District’s two emergency water interconnects with adjacent suppliers.
      • This allowed the District to deliver uninterrupted, adequate water supply and pressure to its customers over the past two weeks while the District analyzed what work would be necessary to restore water supply from its water plant.
      • Unfortunately, the limits of water supply from the emergency interconnects necessitated imposing Stage 2 water restrictions upon our customers in order to ensure that adequate water supply and pressure for non-outdoor water usage could continue to be provided.
  • Next Steps.
    • On Thursday, April 25th, the District completed the televising necessary to determine the work that would be required for restoration of water supply from its water plant. Contractors are now beginning work to set a well pump and install the other machinery within the well to allow the water plant to resume normal operations. Once that work is complete, sampling and testing can begin to ensure that the water supply from the plant is fit for public consumption.
    • Once testing is complete and a timeline for lifting water restrictions is clear, that timeline will be promptly communicated to our customers on this website and by text alert.
      • It is the goal of the District to enable the lifting of the water usage restrictions next week.
      • We will provide a further update on Monday on the progress of work at the water plant and timeline for testing.
    • Following restoration of normal operations, the District will conduct a thorough review of the water well failure to mitigate the risk of this happening again.

The District wishes to convey its sincere gratitude and appreciation for the patience and collective effort of its customers in reducing the strain on the District’s water system while its team could put a restoration plan in motion. We will continue working as hard as we can to get back to normal and lift the restrictions on outdoor water use and watering as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 105

MC105 Lifts Stage 3 of the Drought Contingency Plan and Initiates Stage 2

No automatic irrigation systems while on water restrictions.

Hand-held hose watering only. You can water with the hose on Sundays and Thursdays if you have an even address number. You can water with the hose on Saturdays and Wednesdays if you have an odd address number.

No watering can be done between high demand hours which is 6am to 10am and 6pm to 12am. We understand it’s not ideal, but it puts a big strain on the system when everyone is watering during peak water usage hours.

We are navigating the well repair as quickly as possible. This is our priority, and all hands are on deck.

Stage 3 Restrictions Remain in Effect

Current Status:

  • Well Pump remains out of service at the Water Plant.
    • Work continues to bring the Well back online (Initial estimate of 1 week stands for now, though this is subject to change)
  • Two emergency interconnects are providing the district with water
    • This currently meets our needs and is being monitored
  • Stage 3 Mandatory Water Restrictions remain in place until further notice
    • This is to preserve the water system; outdoor watering could cause us to draw more water than the interconnects can provide
  • The district has no current plans to levy any surcharges (200% for amounts over 10,000 gallons used stated in the Drought Contingency Plan)
  • An insurance claim has been started and we don’t currently see any impact to customer water bills or tax rates
  • Notifications have been made to Conroe ISD and South Montgomery County Fire Department.
  • Additional alerts will be sent out reminding users of the water restrictions
  • Updates will be provided as they become available regarding restoration of service from the Well
  • Please feel free to email board@mcmud105.org with any questions