The North Central Texas Council of Governments has since its inception had interests in and responsibilities for planning initiatives related to water resources. In the 80th Texas Legislative Session, as a result of elements in Senate Bill 3, House Bill 4, and House Bill 1656, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was charged to undertake rulemaking that would implement changes for irrigation system design, installation, operation, water conservation and definition of duties and responsibilities of licensed irrigators.
HB 1656 specifically mandates that municipalities with populations of 20,000 or more implement a landscape irrigation permitting, inspection and enforcement program. Municipalities are required to adopt local ordinances or rules related to landscape irrigation that include minimum standards and specifications for designing, installing and operating irrigation systems, and requires a new type of license, an irrigation inspector. All of these requirements target the efficient use of water and water conservation enhancement statewide. NCTCOG’s Water Resources Council (WRC) recognized that the municipal requirements present challenges in implementation of the irrigation-related ordinances, and a subcommittee of the WRC was formed to convene local water utility staff and building code officials to develop a model ordinance template. The subcommittee sought to build consensus on some water conservation initiatives beyond the minimum state requirements in recognition of the importance of water resources in North Central Texas. The group also sought to outline a consistent approach for cities to consider in implementing the required ordinance and related water conservation strategies.
The Water Resources Council reviewed the ordinance template and specific measures and policies proposed by the subcommittee. The Water Resources Council recommended the draft model ordinance and associated irrigation management and inspection measures to the Executive Board in December 2008, with the recommendation that the model ordinance and enhanced water conservation elements be distributed to 46 affected cities in the region. The WRC recommended that cities and water districts consider using the draft model ordinance and considering inclusion of the irrigation and conservation elements in their respective ordinances, and also consider addressing these elements as part of the Water Conservation Plan updates that will be required for each city to undertake in May 2009. NCTCOG's Executive Board approved the model ordinance at their December 18th meeting.
NCTCOG’s Water Resources Council recognizes the importance of water resources to the long-term sustainabilitiy of North Central Texas. Council members also feel that local governments in our area should consider pursuing enhanced practices and policies for achieving efficient use of water resources into the future.
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