EXPLAINER: How low water levels are prompting water restrictions
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On Tuesday, McAllen became the latest city to enact mandatory water restrictions.
Restrictions were ordered after the levels at the Rio Grande Valley water reservoirs dropped to below 25% capacity.
The US International Boundary and Water Commission said water levels have been below that threshold since Aug. 5.
RELATED STORY: Mandatory water restrictions in effect in McAllen
The McAllen Public Utilities office said they took their time in implementing this restriction to make sure there wasn't a sudden turnaround in water levels before issuing the messaging.
The state requires cities to have drought contingency plans, but not all Valley cities use the 25% reservoir capacity as the tipping point to enact water restrictions.
The Brownsville Public Utilities Board says they use the 25% benchmark, but they haven’t implemented water restrictions.
The city of Mission has been under stage two water restrictions for a year now while their water plants go through updates.
Edinburg also has water restrictions in effect.
San Benito Mayor Ricardo “Rick” Guerra told Channel 5 News a city commission meeting is planned to discuss the water restrictions.
As of last week, reservoir levels were at 24.72%.
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