10 | SUNRAYS AUGUST 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
CA NEWS
Learning how to operate your irrigation con-
troller properly is the greatest action that
can be taken toward successful water con-
servation. Going a step further, familiarizing
yourself with your irrigation systemand its operation throughout
your yard will provide valuable insight for setting up the irriga-
tion controller. All CA controllers are tested once a month; by
testing your controller and running through the different stations
in your yard on a regular basis, you can observe and identify any
problems with the distribution or irrigation coverage.
The City of Georgetown has two programs available to help youwith
monitoring your water use. Aquamessenger sends you AquaAlert
notifications when your consumption has reached certain thresh-
olds that you predetermine. To sign up and receive AquaAlerts,
visit
The second program is Georgetown Utility Analysis and Report-
ing Doorway (GUARD). GUARD is an online tool that provides
easy-to-use tools to help you learn about and manage your utility
consumption. Visit
to learn more.
There is always a Water Ambassador willing to help with any
of these tasks. Your neighborhood representative will knowwho
the Water Ambassador is for your neighborhood and will put
you in contact with that person.
Permitted watering days are as follows:
Odd addresses: Tuesday and/or Saturday
Even addresses: Wednesday and/or Sunday
No sprinkler or irrigation system use is permitted
on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Source: water.georgetown.org
Recently, we’ve had a number of requests to review applications
out of process because the contractor is “coming tomorrow”
to proceed with work on the house. Of course, the permitting
process can be time-consuming because, after we have issued
a permit, the City of Georgetown often must issue a permit as
well. It can be tempting to tell a contractor, “Yes, let’s plan to
start the project one month from today, or six weeks from today,”
and believe that the permitting process will be complete by that
time—but, as we all know, the best laid plans often go awry…
My contractor is coming tomorrowand I don’t
have my permit yet! Help!
Here is the official requirement from the Design Guidelines:
2.3. COMMENCEMENT OF WORK
No work shall commence on any project governed by these
Design Guidelines until:
a) An
Application for Modification
, accompanied by the re-
quired supporting plans and illustrations, has been submit-
ted to and approved by the Modifications Committee;
and
b) A Modifications Committee permit is issued; and all re-
quired permits have been received by the home owner from
the appropriate agency of the City of Georgetown or any
other jurisdictional authority.
Bottom line:
only set project start dates contingent on
the permit process being complete.
Verify that the con-
tractor
clearly understands
that you must have the actual
permits in-hand
before
work begins.
My ModCom permit expired! What happens now?
If, for some reason, the 120-day period for starting the project
has expired, the Community Standards Office is always happy
to use the original approved application and resubmit the pa-
perwork to the Committee for an updated permit with a new
expiration date, when requested to do so by the homeowner.
I can’t find my permit in my email box…
While on the topic of permits, remember that permits from the
Modifications Committee are emailed directly to the resident
and the contractor listed on the application on the afternoon
of the meeting. These emails come from an email account
called “Community Standards Office.” Many spam and junk
email filters don’t recognize the account, which, coupled with
the attached pdf permit, encourages the filters to direct the
email we send to either your junk or spam folder. If you expect
to receive a permit from our office, please set up the “Com-
” as a trusted email and
check your inbox late in the afternoon on the meeting day; or,
check your spam or junk email folders and rescue your permit.
My mailbox/numbers need replacing; what do
I need to do?
Finally, the Residential Maintenance Evaluation program that
started in the first neighborhoods mid-April is progressing
very nicely. One concern has been the aging of the mailboxes
and their vinyl numbers. These mailboxes were installed
by Bowman Construction (phone 512-930-9606 or email
, which is our contact for replacing
or updating everything “mailbox-related”—from the numbers
to the poles. At this time, a resident can call ahead, then
drive across Williams Drive to Bowman’s office to pick up the
numbers ($1 each) and/or a mailbox ($25) that only requires
two screws to replace. For poles, or for one of their workers to
come to your house and make the replacement, the cost will
vary and should be discussed with Bowman.
Ginny Wagner can be reached at
512-948-7462 or email
Bits of Info from Ginny’s Desk
Submitted by Ginny Wagner, Community Standards Supervisor
Water Matters
Submitted by Carlton M Mathis, Water Management
