Storm water runoff is a serious water pollution problem we currently face because this runoff may carry oil, grease, fertilizer, and other pollutants into the storm drain, where it will flow directly into local creeks, rivers, and lakes. Home development increases pollution of storm water because rainwater running off impervious surfaces such as roofs, parking lots, and driveways will carry pollutants directly into our storm sewers, rather than seeping through the ground in a natural filtering process. These pollutants may negatively impact aquatic plants and fish, the aesthetic enjoyment of community waters, and our drinking water systems. In addition, we may face higher costs to treat contaminated water.

In response to the problem of storm water pollution, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") issued a general permit to authorize discharges from small municipal storm sewer systems (MS4s) into the surface waters of the state. The Ranch at Cypress Creek Municipal Utility District No. 1 (the "District") maintains such a storm sewer system and has been issued a Phase II MS4 permit for small MS4s.

A requirement of this permit is that the District develop a Storm Water Management Plan ("SWMP") that describes actions the District will take to reduce or eliminate pollutants in storm water discharges. The SWMP includes implementation of provisions for (i) public outreach and participation, including storm drain stenciling and distribution of educational material; (ii) detection and elimination of unlawful discharges; (iii) construction and post-construction runoff control; and (iv) pollution prevention.

The District is in the second year of implementing the SWMP. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the storm water permit or the SWMP, please contact Mr. John Bonney at (512) 250-0701.

You and Watershed Protection

The City of Austin maintains a Watershed Protection Education website which is a wonderful resource encouraging environmental stewardship. One of the resources there is a beautiful brochure with an overview of Austin-area watershed information.

You can do your part in protecting our watersheds by ensuring that your waste is disposed of properly. Resources to help you:

• Reconnect is a residential computer recycling program which is sponsored by Dell and Goodwill. It is a great way to get rid of your old computers and other electronic waste in a community- and environmentally-friendly way.
• Berg Environmental Services, Inc. offers a wide variety of products & services designed help companies comply with environmental rules & regulations
• Let us know if you know of other resources that we can reference here

 

Sprinkler System

A few residents have questions concerning why the irrigation system is sometimes running during rain showers. The Ranch at Cypress Creek has an extensive irrigation system that is operated by seven different solar/battery powered controllers. These controllers are equipped with rain sensors that are set to shut the system off should an ample rainfall event of approximately ½ inch occur. Maintaining adequate soil moisture requires deep watering of such rains and with a light rainfall the soil and landscape still need supplemental irrigation applied. Irrigation is also limited to certain days and time periods and if that time is interrupted the soil moisture is difficult to replace in the short term. Rain sensors are also not totally reliable and can malfunction due to the presence of any debris including dust, leaves, bird doo, and insects; and also have mechanical electrical issues.

One is likely to see the irrigation system running during a rainfall event if the rainfall event provided less than ½ inch rain or if the rain sensor is malfunctioning. Our contractor visually monitors the irrigation system during each site visit and performs a complete check once a month. They also respond to specific repair request made through the Board. At this time the Board has determined that its irrigation system is operating properly and that it is more cost effective to leave the irrigation system set and operating as is rather than occur the expense to manually operate the controllers.