A hint of frustration may have settled in last week at the Murphy City Council meeting as members of the council determined they have few mechanisms available to avoid breaking through the water usage cap set by North Texas Municipal Water District, which would result in higher water costs.

Water conservation was discussed at a regular session of the council Tuesday, June 5.

“If we are really concerned about conservation, why don’t we look at other tools?” queried Councilmember Owais Siddiqui.

The council recently cut hours of operation at the Murphy Central Park splash pad, limiting it to the hours of 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and for reservations already on the books for the nearby pavilion and during special events through Labor Day. The facility is now closed on Monday for maintenance. Also, the cycle for water flow was cut to five minutes from 10 minutes until triggered again through sensors.

The cap for annual water use in Murphy is 1.4 billion gallons and the city had consumed 1.17 billion gallons through last week. The usage count starts again Aug. 1, leaving two months for conservation to avoid exceeding the 1.4 billion gallon cap.

For the full story see the June 14 issue or subscribe online.

Joe Reavis • [email protected]