Lake Residents Pump Free Water - KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

Some residents who live at Lake Arrowhead have leases that allow them to pump their own water from the lake for free.

"There are no restrictions on how much water they can use or when they can use it," said Wichita Falls Assistant City Manager Kevin Hugman. This is true, even when the city is in Stage 3 Drought Emergency.

The only restriction included in the leases that allow pumping from the lake, is the motor on the pump can be no more than 3/4 horsepower.

"With Lake Arrowhead being down now 12-13 feet, for practical purposes, that size pump is not going to be able to pull water from that far down anyways," said Hugman. "So we think that it's really not a big problem now, that most people aren't even really able to pull water from the lakes."

Most Lake Arrowhead residents buy their water from Red River Water Authority, and that company is subject to the same drought restrictions as the city.

Red River must cut their water usage by 35%, and the company is therefore passing this task on to customers. Assistant General Manager Henry Wied said he would send out a notice to each Lake Arrowhead resident by Friday, Feb. 15th.