Water quality was a hot topic for discussion at the Horseshoe Bay City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 19, as council members considered several water related issues.

Horseshoe Bay Community Services Director Jeff Koska and Water Conservation Inspector Bill Teeter requested that council members approve a new ordinance establishing minimal standards for design, installation and maintenance of water irrigation systems in the city limits. Under the new ordinance, irrigation system owners will be required to perform a test every five years to make sure backflow prevention devices are working effectively to ensure protection of both the customer and the municipal water system.

The cost of these tests is expected to be less than $100 for most backflow prevention devices and copies of test reports must be provided to the city. Devices which fail a test must be replaced, per the ordinance. Failure to comply with the ordinance is subject to a class C misdemeanor criminal charge and a fine not to exceed $500 per day.

While the state of Texas does not require cities of less than 20,000 population to adopt ordinances regarding irrigation system standards, smaller communities may choose to be proactive and adopt more stringent requirements. Koska and Teeter cited the increase in construction within the city limits, as well as the age of many systems that have been in use for more than 20 years, as an important reason why the new ordinance is necessary.