The city of Bruceville-Eddy is under a mandatory water-conservation order because of dwindling water reserves in the hot early summer.

Bruceville-Eddy City Secretary Koni Billings said the order went into effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday and limits irrigation of landscaped areas to two days a week between midnight and 5 a.m.

Customers with even-numbered addresses may only water on Mondays and Thursdays, while odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The move was made out of necessity, Billings said.

“We had some grave concerns about the fact that our underground storage is emptying quickly,” Billings said. “Also, the fact that we’ve had major line breaks due to the soil. Our ground out here is just absolutely devoid of any moisture.”

Billings said water usage in the city has spiked earlier in the summer than usual, and a request for residents to voluntarily restrict their water usage was largely ignored.

“This (mandatory conservation order) is not just addressing an immediate situation,” Billings said. “I’m looking at things, and this is June. It’s only June. We’re not even into our peak time of the summer for usage.”

Billings said she expects the order to last for at least 10 days, though it could be shorter or longer, depending on conditions. For now, residents in violation of the order will only receive warnings, but if the order is not being followed, Billings said the next step is to issue citations to violators.

Waco’s director of water utility services, Ricky Garrett, said the situation in Waco is not nearly as dire, and the city is not currently in danger of any water restrictions.

Garrett said officials are closely monitoring the situation, however, and that the city had its highest output of the year on Tuesday, at 47.9 million gallons.

“It’s kind of early in the year to be hitting those kinds of numbers,” Garrett said. “Usually our peak day doesn’t hit until the middle of July or August.”

The high usage is likely directly tied to recent soaring temperatures. According to the National Weather Service, Waco’s high temperature of 106 degrees on Wednesday eclipsed the previous record high of 104 for that date, set in 1933. Wednesday marked the ninth day in June when the temperature has reached at least 100 degrees, and the highs are expected to continue to top 100 at least through Sunday.

Billings stressed that people should not restrict water use in any instance where life is involved, such as for pets or livestock.

“You don’t conserve by not giving your horses water, and you don’t conserve by not taking care of your dogs,” she said.

Garrett said common sense steps should be taken, even in the absence of a conservation order. Things like leaky faucets and running toilets may seem harmless, but “it’s amazing how much that can add up over time,” he said.

twoods@wacotrib.com

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