Barring sudden and miraculous relief from the skies, the city of Houston will enact mandatory water restrictions and a simultaneous draw-down of water from Lake Conroe as early as next week in response to the ongoing drought, Mayor Annise Parker said Wednesday.

In June, the city implemented what it calls Stage 1 water conservation. That includes voluntary usage limits, including a request that residents water lawns at night or early morning, and no more often than twice a week.

Under Stage 2, those restrictions would become mandatory. Residents also would be required to repair water leaks on their properties within 72 hours.

City Hall would implement its own restrictions on municipal workers and facilities. City departments would be ordered to set a 10 percent water consumption goal; water mains would be flushed only in order to protect life or health; and measures would be taken to ensure that the city's irrigation systems do not overuse water.

In addition to the Stage 2 restrictions, the mayor asked that residents restrict the washing of vehicles and other things that may waste water.

Businesses that rely on water, such as car washes and laundromats, will not be affected by Stage 2 conservation, said Jessica Michan, Parker's press secretary.

The mandatory restrictions would be enforced through fines, but neither the mayor's office nor the Public Utilities Division could give enforcement details.

"We are coming closer and closer to drawing down water from Lake Conroe to stabilize the water levels in Lake Houston," Parker said. "And we are coming closer and closer to a Stage 2 water conservation, which is mandatory."

It would be the third time the city has had to transfer water from Lake Conroe to stabilize Lake Houston, she said. The last time was in 1988. The flow from Lake Conroe would be used to boost the level in Lake Houston to prevent damage to intake mechanisms that supply water to the city.

Timing set by ordinance

The reservoirs have sufficient water, Parker said. "Even if we don't receive a drop … for the next few years, we have water to keep us going, but this is about setting the right example and being good neighbors."

Houston has three major sources of drinking water — Lake Conroe, Lake Houston and Lake Livingston. While the latter's water level has remained fairly constant during the months-long drought, the other two lakes have seen their levels drop.

"We have an ordinance that defines when we must draw down from Lake Conroe," Parker said. "We don't want to do it arbitrarily. We will hit that level in Lake Houston next week."

Parker said the city enacted Stage 1 water conservation largely to maintain water pressure in city lines in the face of an ongoing backlog of 600 water main breaks.

"There are two more severe stages of water conservation," the mayor noted. "At this point, we are not moving toward those."

"There are two more severe stages of water conservation," the mayor noted. "At this point, we are not moving toward those."

Some other area cities are asking residents to conserve on a voluntary basis, primarily by limiting lawn irrigation to twice a week and by confining their watering in the evening or early morning hours.

The city of Katy is urging residents to check for leaks, reduce lawn irrigation and water only before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. The city's six wells are pumping about 4.5 million gallons per day, a 50 percent increase over its usage in May, Assistant City Administrator Bill Drohan said.

Other cities may follow

Water levels are holding up "amazingly OK," Drohan said. "They are dropping, but you would expect that in the summer. We're not at the point of going to the next stage yet. I'm pretty sure people understand what is going on and have cut back."

Still, he added, "We might be OK now, but I can't tell you we'll be OK next month. We need some rain."

Danny Segundo, director of public works for Jersey Village, said that city has not implemented any water-use restrictions.

"We buy our water from the city of Houston," Segundo explained. "Once they notify us they've gone into restrictions related to our contract, we'll have to take measures."

The Memorial Village mayors, however, are encouraging their residents to comply with mandatory water conservation measures from the Memorial Villages Water Authority, where storage tank levels and system pressure both are dangerously low.

Residents who have even-numbered addresses have been asked to limit their lawn watering to between midnight and 3 a.m.

Those with odd-numbered addresses are asked to water only between the hours of 4 a.m. and 7 a.m.

Some area cities get their water from the city of Houston. Officials said any move by Houston to implement restrictions would force them to re-evaluate their own cities' requirements.

This Week reporters Melissa Bech and Karen Zurawski contributed to this report.

megan.ryan@chron.com