Early Implementation of Stage 4 Water Restrictions in North Texas

January 9, 2012 
  
To:      North Texas Municipalities and Interested Parties 
  
It is the understanding of the below mentioned entities that the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) is considering implementing Stage IV water restrictions at its January 26th meeting.  It is our daily practice to conserve and manage water in all aspects of our industry; and we promote these principles to the end user.  A website has been developed in conjunction with Texas A&M University, the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association (TNLA) to educate the public on what consumers should plant so the landscape will be sustainable.  TNLA also publishes a “Best of Texas” book that also encourages the consumer to plant “the right plant in the right spot.”  Educating the consumer is the key to long lasting water conservation and water management.  Overall, plant material and turfgrass personnel are well versed in preserving our natural resource. 
  
In the last legislative session, TNLA and the Texas Turf Irrigation Association teamed up to help give municipalities the tools to fine unlicensed irrigators who are illegally installing sprinkler systems.  Licensed irrigators are professionals who know the proper way to install and retrofit systems that do not waste water.  They use best management practices set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. 
  
It would be wise to make sure the full purpose of these water restrictions is truly for water conservation and water management.  Different technologies in the irrigation industry should be fully explored.   The use of drought resistant plants in North Texas should also be a part of the solution.  We understand cities are unable to monitor and enforce some irrigation technologies, but let us all make sure the point of the new proposed ordinance is for water conservation and water management and not monetary. 
  
The implementation of Stage IV water restrictions will destroy landscapes ability to maintain or reduce the current urban heat islands (click here for Dallas Urban Heat Island Study) in the north part of Texas.  Stage IV water restrictions will negatively affect the air quality if last year’s plant material is not replaced and new plant material is not added to the landscape.  Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by interactions of volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen.  Sunlight and heat are part of this equation, with higher temperatures often producing higher concentrations of ozone.  By allowing a variance for new landscape installations and at least watering an inch a week, the quality of life people enjoy will be maintained. 
  
Jacqueline Peterson, Assistant Professor of Urban Nutrient and Water Quality at Texas A&M University modeled (WEPP, USDA 2010) the potential for erosion of nutrients and soil from a landscape that has been subjected to irrigation levels that could reduce landscape canopies by half.  If cover is reduced from 90% to 45% under reduced irrigation practices, the rate of soil erosion could double during a normal precipitation event. 
  
“Urban Community Landscape Agriculture mitigates man’s land altering activity to enhance quality of life by improving environmental, economic, and social sustainability of constructed landscapes.” 
~ D. Chalmers’ Professor and State Extension Turfgrass Specialist-Texas AgriLife Extension Service (modification of definition by the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council – 2008) 
  
Besides the conclusive argument for the quality of life, we would also like to refer you to an annual study complied by Texas A&M University, theEconomic Scope and Impact of the Green Industry in Texas. It describes the economic impact our industry has on the state and the Dallas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).  In the Dallas MSA, there is almost $2.5 billion in green industry sales and over 34,000 people employed, thus making up almost 17% of the state.  Not only would Stage IV water restrictions do unrecoverable damage to our industry, but it will turn the NTMWD into an increased-ozone-producing area that is hotter and is not as attractive to its residents and tourists. 
  
Hundreds of thousands of homeowners have invested billions of dollars in their landscapes as the area served by the NTMWD has developed. Stage IV would almost ensure that a huge percentage of those dollars would be lost, and we will lose a generation’s worth of landscaping.  This vote of the NTMWD board should not be taken lightly. We join to encourage all city and county leaders, citizens and others to work toward a decision that is truly based on water conservation and management. 
  
We would like to work with you to find a balance between conservation, protecting other parts of the environment and not destroying businesses in your city.  Clean air and the negative affects of heat islands are as important as water.  Give our industries and the consumer a chance to help protect the entire environment (click here to see Earth-Kind, Texas A&M Extension Service).  At this point, the only entity that has solicited our insight and best management practices expertise is the Dallas Morning News. 
  
  
Sincerely, 
  
Amy Graham 
President 
Texas Nursery & Landscape Association 
  
Jim Tates 
President, Southwest Region 
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 
  
John Cosper 
President 
Turfgrass Producers of Texas 
  
Amanda Griffin 
Executive Director 
Texas Turf Irrigation Association 
  
Neil Sperry 
Publisher, Neil Sperry’s GARDENS Magazine and WBAP

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