Fewer azaleas will bloom this year in Highland Park as the town aims to reduce water use.
Parks staff swapped out some of Highland Park’s signature plants — which are not native to the area — for more drought-resistant options. They’ve also installed precision nozzle sprinkling systems, attended conservation seminars and adopted waterwise landscaping techniques in town parks.
The next step is spreading the message of water conservation to residents, said Ronnie Brown, director of town services.
Highland Park is drafting a water conservation plan that may be adopted by Town Council in April. The plan, which sets goals for water savings, is required by the state and must be updated every five years.
About 96 percent of the town’s water consumption is by residents, Brown said. Half of that is used for irrigation.
“Before we tell someone else what to do, we felt like we had to get our own house in order,” he said.
The town fell short of its 2009 water conservation goal of reducing water consumption 1 percent each year. In the new plan, the staff recommends a 0.8 percent reduction goal per year. That would add up to a 4 percent reduction by 2018.
The staff plans to notify the town’s top 25 water users this summer and work with them to reduce use. It will also work with Highland Park ISD’s student environmental club, review the town’s plumbing and irrigation ordinances, offer free sprinkler inspections and host free water conservation seminars, among other ideas.
New Highland Park homes reduce outdoor water use, since most homeowners install modern, efficient sprinkling systems, he said.
“Everybody wants to have an attractive lawn,” Brown said. “Can we do that and save water? And I say we can.”
Mayor Joel Williams acknowledged at a recent council meeting that watering — and water restrictions — is a hot button issue in a town known for large, green lawns. He said he’d prefer to encourage change through carrots, not sticks.
He said he’ll ask the new Town Council, which will be sworn in this spring, to “roll up our sleeves.” Williams, who is uncontested, will serve another term.
Last year, the parks staff encouraged residents to survey their properties for stagnant water and monitor water use to minimize the number of mosquitoes and decrease the chance of West Nile virus. Highland Park had the highest rate of West Nile virus in Dallas County in 2012, according to Dallas County Health and Human Services.
The town also has one of the highest residential water use rates in North Texas, according to 2011 regional data collected by The Dallas Morning News. Highland Park residents used an average of 364 gallons per day in 2011, roughly three times more water per person than in Dallas that year.
Town rules require residents to have rain-sensing devices and freeze gauges on their sprinklers. Residents and their landscapers cannot water the lawn with irrigation systems between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from April 1 to Oct. 31, according to a town ordinance.
The water regulations were accidentally deleted when Highland Park updated its plumbing code in 2008 but were reimplemented at a March 24 council meeting.
Town employees usually notify residents with door hangers if they see yard runoff or sprinklers running in freezing temperatures, Brown said. He said he prefers to educate residents, rather than write them tickets.
As for azaleas, they’ll continue to be part of Highland Park landscaping — but as accents, not anchors. Highland Park’s new town hall, which opens in the spring, will have about 75 percent fewer azaleas, Brown said.
Residents, he said, will still be surprised by its beauty.
Follow Melissa Repko on Twitter at @melissa_repko.
