Recent rains have brought relief to the Katy area in more ways than one–with the lifting of drought restrictions for residents of the city of Katy and the lifting of the burn ban in Fort Bend County.
Effective October 4th, the City of Katy rescinded all stages of its drought contingency plan, according
to a press release posted on the city’s website. After meeting with ARKK Engineers and city officials, Mayor
Dusty Thiele determined that all criteria had been met in order to deactivate the plan and to allow residents to
return to normal non-drought water use conditions.
“We are asking all our citizens, businesses and HOAs to
continue to use their best efforts to conserve water so we
do not have to re-activate the Drought Contingency Plan,”
said Thiele in a statement.
Due to a decrease in high temperatures, an increase in
rain, and a significant drop in points on the Keetch Byram Drought Index
(KBDI) over the past week, Fort Bend County Judge KP
George has also rescinded the burn ban that Commissioner’s Court imposed on August 8, 2023.
Effective, October 6, 2023, at 1:00 p.m., the Declaration and Order Prohibiting Outdoor Burning in Fort Bend County, Texas is canceled.
Under the recommendation of the Fort Bend County
Fire Marshal, residents are advised to follow the guidelines of the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ) for outdoor burning, which include the
following:
1. No fire can be left unattended
2. There must be some form of fire protection onsite, hose, fire extinguisher, shovels/rakes, bulldozer, etc.
3. No fire should be within 50 feet of a residence or structure
4. No burning at night. The KBDI index for Fort
Bend County has dropped by 164 points with a continued forecast for more rain in the coming days.