|
|
DROUGHT PLANS IN PLACE. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued a letter to water system officials that encourage them to implement drought contingency plans immediately. The Texas Nursery & Landscape Association (TNLA) notes that these contingency plans may well include landscape watering restrictions and offers a Drought Public Relations Package to offer landscape professionals useful drought action plans.
“Surface water conditions have worsened and river streamflows continue to show a decline in portions of the state,” said Glenn Shankle, TCEQ executive director. “Now is the time to act to ensure continued, adequate water supplies for all of Texas.”
In an effort to manage water usage, reduce peak demand and extend supplies, water systems in the state are encouraged to address line leaks, which could result in supply loss, and conduct regular, preventative maintenance of tanks, distribution lines and meters. The TCEQ is also asking consumers to practice water conservation at home. Some of the ways to reduce water usage include checking kitchen and bathroom plumbing for leaks, washing full loads of dishes or laundry, cutting back on car washes, and watering lawns during early morning hours, no more than twice a week.
Since January 2005, 100 community water systems in Texas have asked customers to limit outside water usage. Of these systems, currently 33 are requiring mandatory watering restrictions and 16 are asking for their customers to voluntarily reduce usage. The lack of soil moisture, in some of these areas, could continue to challenge the state’s water supply as farmers approach the spring growing season and its irrigation requirements for crops.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), drought conditions will persist or intensify, through March 2006 for parts of central and northern Texas, and into the Panhandle of the state. Drought conditions are forecast as probable for the Plains Region of Texas during the same three-month forecast.
|
|
NEW GAS CAN REGULATIONS. In other TCEQ news, in response to rules working to clean the air in the Lone Star State, Texas green industry professionals have been putting up with a burdensome rule limiting the hours of use for landscape equipment. Recently, the TNLA announced that part of a association-proposed solution to defeat the rule has been enacted by the TCEQ.
As of Dec. 31, a new rule is on the books in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) that forces suppliers and manufacturers of portable gas cans to comply with new performance standards that relate to lower emissions. As of the new year, portable fuel containers may have only one opening in the vessel and portable fuel container spouts must have an automatic shut-off device that stops the flow of fuel before the target fuel tank overflows. Additionally, spouts must automatically close and seal when removed from the larger fuel tank, remain closed when not dispensing fuel, and seal without leakage to the container to which it is affixed. The new rule also outlines necessary flow rates in accordance with California Air Resources Board Test Methods, as well as cut-off levels related to the flow of fuel.
The full text of the rule (30 TAC sec. 115.620-629) can be found by clicking here. TNLA is encouraging nursery and landscape businesses using portable gasoline cans to invest in the new cans in order to help keep Texas’s air clean and to fulfill the associations promise to regulatory agencies.