It is that time of the year again to considering turning off your sprinkler system. St Augustine grass is normally dormant in the winter, requiring very little watering. Texas weather can change quickly, especially in the winter. When a bitter cold front rolls in, spring like conditions can give way to freezing temperatures within hours. By turning off your system now, besides saving water, your irrigation system can be winterized (see discussion below) ahead of any freezing weather.

When water freezes, it expands. If ice forms in your home’s water pipes, it can shatter pipe seals or the pipes themselves, sending water pouring throughout your house. Most residents in the area have copper or PVC pipes, which are susceptible to freezing and breaking in subfreezing temperatures if not adequately insulated.

You can avoid thousands of dollars of damage to your walls, ceilings, carpets, and furniture by making a little investment in time to prepare before the first cold spell hits.

BEFORE THE FREEZE

• Use faucet covers, or wrap rags, paper, trash bags, or plastic foam around faucets and outdoor pipes from the ground to the faucets. Insulated foam wrap and covers are available from any home supply or hardware store.
• Cover any vents around your homes foundation.
• Bring water hoses indoors. PRIOR TO HARD FREEZE.
• Open the cabinets under the sinks on your kitchen and bathroom to allow heated indoor air to circulate around water pipes.
• Protect outdoor electrical pumps. If you have a swimming pool, either drain the circulation system or keep the pump motor running. (Run the pump motor only in a short freeze. Running the motor for long periods could damage it.)

If you leave town, or are gone during the night, consider turning off your water at the master shut-off valve while faucets are running to drain your pipes. Simply turn it off like you would any faucet. (Make sure the faucets are turned off before you turn the shut-off valve back on.) If you drain your pipes, shut off the hot water heater and protect the hot water from freezing.

IF YOUR PIPES FREEZE

• Turn off your water at the master shut-off valve. If you are unable to turn water off at the master shut-off valve contact the District’s operator, H2O Consulting 281-861-6215 to turn the water off at the meter.
• Call a plumber for help as needed.
• Don’t use lamps or electrical appliances to thaw frozen pipes. Leaking water from thawing pipes could cause a short and you could be electrocuted.
• If you try to thaw your pipes, apply heat slowly, and move it toward the coldest spot on the pipe. Never concentrate heat in one spot – cracking ice can shatter a pipe. Never use an open flame of any sort.

IF YOU HAVE A LOSS DUE TO THE FREEZE

• Contact your insurance agent or company promptly. Follow as soon as possible with a written claim to protect your rights under Texas’ prompt-payment law. Review your coverage.
• Check to see if your policy requires you to make temporary repairs to protect your property from further damage. Keep all receipts and damaged property for the adjuster to inspect. If possible, take photos or video of the damage before making repairs.
• Don’t make permanent repairs. An insurance company may deny a claim if you make permanent repairs before an adjuster inspects the damage.
• Be advised that most homeowner policies do not cover loss caused by freezing pipes while your house is unoccupied unless you have made a reasonable attempt to:
  • Maintain heat in the building
  • Shut off water supply
  • Drain plumbing, heating, & air conditioning systems of water

WINTERIZE YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

During the winter months, it is important to winterize the parts of the system that are above ground and susceptible to a hard freeze. This will include at a minimum, your backflow preventer and depending on the system, some valves and pipes. Your backflow preventer is a brass device that sticks up out of the ground about a foot or two. Proper insulation of the backflow and its piping will protect against leaks while also protecting you as it was designed to do. If your system has a drain valve, you might also consider draining the system before any hard freeze is scheduled to come to Copperfield. Water standing in the pipes can freeze which could lead to unwanted leaks.

Following a notice from WHCRWA, MUD 208 has entered Stage 1 (Voluntary) water restrictions.  The Board is requesting that all district users take the following voluntary Drought Response Measures in an effort to achieve a ten (10) percent reduction in daily water demand:

• 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.

See Drought Contingency Plan for more details.

The following summer water conservation rates are now in effect:

The WHCRWA water rate and the sewer rate are billed in addition to the rates shown above.

For more details go to Detailed Water & Sewer Rate Order

Once again, we are all getting our yards back to the healthy, lovely green specimens they were prior to the abuse they suffered during the winter. Have you turned your sprinkler system on and walked the whole system? We recommend you do this to ensure your sprinkler heads are not broken and your whole yard is getting the proper amount of water that it needs. This should be done at the beginning of the irrigation season, and monthly throughout the season.  This is especially true if you have a lawn service and your system runs overnight as you might not realize one of sprinkler heads is broken and you have a fountain that is spraying water everywhere. Remember water is getting more expensive, mostly from charges passed on from the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA). Also, you don’t need to water your lawn daily.  You want to apply about a half-inch to an inch in order to soak the soil deeply. Then allow it to dry out, bringing air back into the soil, before you give it another thorough soaking. This saves water and helps develop a good-rooted, resilient turf.

Take necessary precautions. Wrap Water Pipes, Drain Sprinkler Systems & Cover Outside Hose Bibs. Visit https://www.h2oconsulting.net/winterize-your-home/ for more details.

NOTICE REGARDING EXTREME WEATHER EMERGENCIES

This communication is to notify you that Harris County MUD #208, your retail water and sanitary sewer provider is:

• prohibited from imposing late fees or disconnecting retail water or sewer service for nonpayment of bills that are due during an extreme weather emergency until after the emergency is over;
• required to offer a payment schedule to a customer who requests such a schedule for unpaid bills due during an extreme weather emergency; and
• prohibited from disconnecting retail water or sewer service for nonpayment of bills due during an extreme weather emergency until after a payment schedule has been offered and the customer has either declined to accept the payment schedule in a timely fashion or violated the terms of the payment schedule.

For purposes of this communication, an “extreme weather emergency” is defined as a period beginning when the previous day’s highest temperature in an area did not exceed 28 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted to remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours according to the nearest National Weather Service reports for that area. An extreme weather emergency is over on the second business day the temperature exceeds 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

AVISO SOBRE EMERGENCIAS CLIMATICAS EXTREMAS

Esta comunicaci6n es Qara notificarle que su proveedor de agua y alcantarillado sanitario that Harris County MUD #208, es:

• prohibido imponer cargos por demora o desconectar el servicio de agua o alcantarillado por falta de pago de las facturas que vencen durante una emergencia climatica extrema hasta despues de que termine la emergencia;
• obligado a ofrecer un plan de pago a un cliente que solicite dicho acuerdo para las facturas adeudadas durante una emergencia climatica extrema; y
• prohibido desconectar el servicio de agua o alcantarillado por falta de pago de facturas adeudadas durante una emergencia climatica extrema hasta que se haya ofrecido un plan de pago y el cliente se haya negado a aceptar el plan de pago de manera oportuna o haya violado los terminos del plan de pago.

A los fines de este comunicado, una “emergencia climatica extrema” se define como un periodo que cornienza cuando la temperatura mas alta del dia anterior en un area no super6 los 28 grados Fahrenheit y se pronostica que la temperatura permanecera en ese nivel o por debajo de este durante las pr6ximas 24 horas. de acuerdo con los informes del Servicio Meteorol6gico Nacional mas cercano para esa area. Una emergencia climatica extrema termina el segundo dia habil en que la temperatura supera los 28 grados Fahrenheit.