Author: LFUD

Surface Water

Lake Forest Utility District (the “District”) is located within the North Harris County Regional Water Authority’s (“NHCRWA”) Groundwater Reduction Program (“GRP”) and is mandated to receive surface water.

The District currently uses groundwater as its water source, which is disinfected with chlorine. The NHCRWA uses chloramines to disinfect their water.

The District is scheduled to receive surface water in the fourth quarter of 2024. To prepare for the delivery of surface water, the District must convert their current disinfection system from chlorine to chloramine disinfection.

The extension of NHCRWA surface water lines and the chloramines conversion projects are currently in construction and is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.

Storm Preparedness: Case Study

When Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area, historic levels of rainfall significantly impacted the operations of water and wastewater utilities across the region. Four feet of floodwaters caused the Lake Forest Utility District’s main water treatment plant to go offline for several days.

The District contacted Baxter & Woodman to evaluate the facility for damage and necessary modifications. After temporary emergency repairs to the plant were made, Baxter & Woodman recommended additional resiliency upgrades to reduce the risk of essential equipment failure in future flood events while providing cost savings to the District. Improvements were designed to elevate critical infrastructure and electrical equipment above Harvey’s flood level, including raising the roof and wall height of the control building by approximately five feet, installing an interior mezzanine deck to house the new, raised motor controls center, and constructing a raised concrete pad for outdoor placement of the new generator along with a metal pedestrian platform around the perimeter to provide access for maintenance.

Baxter & Woodman helped the District coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to secure $294,000 in reimbursements for the $926,100 repair and mitigation project.

Click here to read the case study.

Important Notice: Lake Forest UD is About to Change Residual Disinfectant from Free Chlorine to Chloramines

Lake Forest UD, PWS ID 1010494, will be changing the disinfectant that we use from chlorine to chloramines as Lake Forest UD will be receiving treated surface water from North Harris County Regional Water Authority. This change is intended to benefit our customers by reducing the levels of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the system, while still providing protection from waterborne disease.

However, the change to chloramines can cause problems to a person dependent on dialysis machines. A condition known as hemolytic anemia can occur if the disinfectant is not completely removed from the water that is used for the dialysate. Consequently, the pretreatment scheme used for the dialysis units must include some means, such as a charcoal filter, for removing the chloramine prior to this date. Medical facilities should also determine if additional precautions are required for other medical equipment.

In addition, chloraminated water may be toxic to fish. If you have a fish tank, please make sure that the chemicals or filters that you are using are designed for use in water that has been treated with chloramines. You may also need to change the type of filter that you use for the fish tank.

You will be notified when the date of conversion is to begin in a separate notice.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Inframark, the operator for Lake Forest UD, at our 24-hour Customer Service Line (281) 398-8211.

Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Rate

The LAKE FOREST UTILITY DISTRICT will hold a public hearing on a proposed tax rate for the tax year 2023 on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 7:00 PM at 11450 Compaq Center Drive STE 660, Houston, TX 77070. Your individual taxes may increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the tax rate that is adopted and on the change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other property. The change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the change in the taxable value of all other property determines the distribution of the tax burden among all property owners.

Visit Texas.gov/PropertyTaxes to find a link to your local property tax database on which you can easily access information regarding your property taxes, including information about proposed tax rates and scheduled public hearings of each entity that taxes your property.

Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Rate (PDF)

Notice of Stage 2 of the Drought Contingency Plan Implemented

  1. All detectible water leaks must be repaired within 72 hours of discovery.
  2. All Outdoor irrigation shall be limited to no more than two (2) days per week and may be limited to (1) day per week. Outdoor irrigation shall be permitted between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day in conformity with the following schedule (no watering on Mondays).
    • Sundays and/or Thursdays for single family residential customers with even-numbered addresses;
    • Saturdays and/or Wednesdays for single family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses; and
    • Tuesdays and/or Fridays for all other customers

Compliance with the above requirements is mandatory.

NHCRWA Implements Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan

Due to the issues at the City of Houston’s NEWPP, the Authority is experiencing difficulties in meeting the high demand under the extreme weather conditions. The Authority is implementing Stage 1 of our Drought Contingency Plan immediately. The Authority’s Drought Contingency Plan request that any customer receiving water from the Authority or well owner whose well is included under the Authority’s Harris-Galveston Subsidence District aggregate water well permit:

Check for and repair all leaks, dripping faucets, and running toilets.

  • Utilize water conservation measures such as displacement bags, low-flow shower heads and leak detection tablets. Additional water conservation tips can be found at www.irrygator.com;
  • Limit irrigation to no more than two days per week, between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. following the schedules below:
    • Sundays and Thursdays for single family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses.
    • Saturdays and Wednesdays for single family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses.
    • Tuesdays and Fridays for all other customers.
    • No watering on Mondays.

Compliance to the above recommendations is voluntary.

Digital Water Meters

The District has begun a project to replace all existing water meters with digital meters over a period of 2-3 years. The operator (EDP) began installing Badger Meter digital meters in 2022 with plans to generally replace the oldest meters first. EDP will notify each customer before their meter is replaced and leave a notice on the homeowner’s door when work is completed.

Digital meters allow customers to view and manage their water usage within hours by providing water consumption data in hourly intervals. The meters promote customer awareness of leaks and water consumption and allow active engagement in water conservation and leak prevention efforts. The meters have the ability to create alerts for potential leaks with no need to wait for notification from the utility or a high water bill to take action.

Customer consumption data will be accessible through Badger Meter’s EyeOnWater web portal and smartphone app. The app allows the customer to connect to their water utility account and see their latest water usage, detect leaks, and easily contact EDP.

Instructions to set up an EyeOnWater account can be found on the door hanger left after installation or www.edpwater.com/smlfud or by calling EDP at 832-467-1599.