Voluntary Water Conservation is in effect due to Hurricane Beryl. The MUD 208 Water Plant is running on emergency power, please continue the Voluntary Water Conservation until further notice.

With freezing temperatures right around the corner, it’s a good time to refresh ourselves on precautionary measures for drops in temperature and cold weather.

The Four P’s to Prepare your Home this Winter:

• People
• Pets
• Pipes
• Plants

People

• Avoid going outside if it is not necessary. If you do, make sure you layer up from head to toe.
• To keep you and your family safe, it is imperative your home is warm.
• Make sure your heat is set to an appropriate temperature to make your entire home comfortable. Remember, heat rises so if you sleep upstairs, your room may be warmer than rooms downstairs.
• If you use a fireplace, make sure you have a screen to catch any embers that might escape or a rolling log.
• Never use your stove or oven to heat your home.
• If you smell smoke or see flames, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Pets

• While protecting your family, it is imperative to protect your pets as well.
• Pets, like humans, are vulnerable to cold temperatures. If not taken care of properly, they can succumb to frostbite and even hypothermia.
• If you have a dog that typically lives outdoors, consider letting them inside when temperatures drop to freezing. While their fur does help to keep them warm, it provides little help in freezing temperatures.
• If you absolutely cannot bring them inside, make sure they have a warm shelter, plenty of food and fresh water so it does not freeze.
• If your pet looks like it has any symptoms resembling frostbite or hypothermia, call your vet.

Pipes

• Turn off the sprinkler system shut-off valve. Most residential devices have two shut-off valves. These are typically covered in blue on the valve handles and located before and after the sprinkler system backflow device. A diagram is shown below.
• Release the water pressure from the bleeder valves. The bleeder valves are usually located under the top of the backflow device. If the water does not stop flowing you may have not shut the valves off completely.
• Leave the smaller bleeder valve open, this will let any remaining water in the line expand without breaking the device. Insulate your backflow device. Most hardware/home services stores carry backflow insulation supplies.
• Make sure to cover all your exposed pipes with a cover. You can also cover your pipes with towels, duct tape or another adhesive strip as long as they are wrapped tightly.
• You can also open up the cabinets to let warm air circulate throughout your home. Just make sure any harmful chemicals are out of reach for children and pets.

Plants

• When cold weather hits, it’s a good idea to bring in all of your outdoor plants.
• If you can’t bring in the plant, cover it with a blanket to make sure they do not die.

Other Tips

• Don’t forget to make sure your car is okay for the freezing temperatures. Check your anti-freeze and your batteries. Also make sure to check your tire pressure and the tread.
• Speaking of cars, make sure when you are on the road that you are mindful parts of the roads may be frozen, particularly bridges. Do not speed and never slam on the brakes.
• Make sure if you use a generator, it is outdoors. Do not use a generator inside, including in your garage.

Water Supply from the WHCRWA has been restored. Please return to normal water use.

WHCRWA requests a voluntary reduction in water usage. See details on their website: https://www.whcrwa.com/2022/12/23/requests-voluntary-reduction/

Water is Safe to Drink, MUD 208 is Not affected by the Current City of Houston Notice.

MUD 208’s water supplier, WHCRWA, as well as the City of Houston, have entered Stage 1 of their Drought Contingency Plans. As a result, MUD 208 is entering into Stage 1 of our Drought Contingency Plan. In Stage 1 we request that our Users voluntarily reduce water usage to achieve a 10% reduction in daily water demand utilizing the following steps:

• Check for and repair all leaks, dripping faucets and running toilets.
• Check for and correct excessive irrigation or uncorrected leaks that result in water leaving the User’s property by drainage onto adjacent properties or public or private roadways or streets or gutters.
• All outdoor water use is requested to occur between the hours of 7 pm and 5 am of the following day on no more than two days per week conforming to the following schedule:
  • Sundays and Thursdays for District residents and other users of water within the District with even-numbered street addresses
  • Saturdays and Wednesdays for District residents and other users of water within the District with odd-numbered street addresses
  • Tuesdays and Fridays for all other Users in the event no address exists
• Check schedules on automatic irrigation controllers, consider using the “cycle and soak” method. This method breaks up watering time into smaller cycles, allowing the water to soak into the soil. To use this method, divide the current watering time for each irrigation zone in half, then select two start times that are 2 hours apart.
  Ex. If you currently water for 10 minutes at 4am. Consider Watering 5 minutes at 2a.m. and 5 minutes at 4a.m.

Like many of the residences, MUD 208 has also experienced damage caused by the AT&T construction in the area. The problem occurred on June 3rd, at about 10:30am, when a subcontractor for AT&T, drilled through the 12” water main that supplies water to the north side of the District. The operator for the District, H2O Consulting, was able to respond in a matter of minutes to isolate the water line break. H2O Consulting employed the District’s emergency water supply to maintain pressure and provide water while repairs were made. The District utilized the smart meter network to verify that the system pressure had not been compromised, and although the damage was significant; the repair was solid. The Water Treatment Plant was offline for one day, but was back in operation for the weekend. The District has started a review of the events that led up to this mess and the District wants to share with you the outreach to AT&T that was made before this event occurred. In February, the District communicated a detailed layout of all water and sewer line potential conflicts that the drilling company needed to prepare for, including this exact location. This information was sent again at the beginning of May as a reminder along with written request to be present for all construction. Even with frequent site visits from H2O Consulting, these requests and warnings fell on deaf ears, as less than 30 days later, the damage was done. As a result of this incident, H2O is diligently monitoring the remaining drilling in the area. Like many homeowners, the District is working diligently on restoring our site.

Harris County is now onsite with materials to fix a water main break on Ridge Park Drive. Water service will be turned off to tie in the new stormwater pipe and make a permanent repair to the water line. Service can be expected to be off for an estimated 7 hours.

The water main along Ridge Park broke and is under repair. The Estimated repair time is at least 12 hours.