Toll-Free Enforcement Numbers

Ordinance

1-877-442-0072

Animal Control

1-877-816-8136

Non-Emergency Numbers

Security Gate

693-4110

City Hall

693-6840

Public Works/POA

693-2951

Golf Course:

693-3300

Allied Waste:

693-3513

Greetings!

 

"So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart."  

~ Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving              

Winterizing Around Your Home

With the first freeze of the fall upon us, I would like to discuss a few precautions that can help minimize the impact of freezing weather. In this series of articles I will address winterizing your lawn irrigation systems followed by some tips on how to winterize around your home.

Fortunately, we are blessed with only mild winters and do not have to take the same precautions that our northern neighbors do. However, we do receive our share of hard freezes which may affect your lawn irrigation systems if not properly prepared. The one thing we get the most calls on after a hard freeze is a leaking backflow device that is installed above ground. The vast majority of the backflow devices installed on irrigation systems in the City are located below ground in a box similar to your water meter box. Normally those are not of too much concern with our milder winters. However, there are several backflow devices that cannot be installed below ground. These backflow devices do require winterization as addressed below.

First you must determine the type of backflow device installed on your system. The most common above ground backflow device is normally located near your water meter and is usually installed about 12 inches above ground. There are several different types, but most look very similar to the ones shown below.

These devices are susceptible to light and hard freezes and require freeze protection. Any above ground piping and backflow devices should be insulated. You can use self-sticking foam insulation tape. This is easy to install and does a fairly good job of protecting above ground piping and devices. Another method is utilizing foam insulation tubes. These work very well on the piping but are difficult to install over the backflow device. Please note that care must be taken to prevent blocking the vent and drain opening of the backflow device. One other method that is often utilized is a large insulated bag designed for this specific purpose. It is simple to install and offers fairly good protection for milder winters. Additional precautions must be taken if an extremely hard freeze is expected or if temperatures are expected to remain below freezing for several days. I would recommend that the following extra precautions be taken for all backflow devices, especially those above ground.

1. Turn off the water supply to your irrigation system and open all drain valve test cocks on the backflow device for several minutes to drain all the water from the device and associated piping. If your backflow device is installed in a manner that can easily be removed, take it off and store in your garage.

2. If you have an automatic irrigation systems either turn off your controller or in most cases you may set it to the "Rain" or "Off" mode. By doing this your controller should keep all of your preprogrammed water cycles and be ready for spring. Another alternative is to disconnect the power to controller, just remember you will probably lose any programs you have entered.

There are several sites on the internet that may be of additional help. Most irrigation system manufacturers have tips for winterizing your lawn irrigation systems.  

Next week we will discuss freeze precautions that should be considered around your home.

Special called business meeting to elect members of the Board of Directors-November 13-7:00 pm

Work session-November 17-9:00 am

Regular monthly business meeting-November 18-7:00 pm

Public hearing to discuss the proposed revision of the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions-November 18-immediately following the monthly business meeting

All meetings are held at the Municipal Building.

The Helping Center is looking for a few good folks.....

The Helping Center is headed into their busiest time of the year and they are finding themselves a little short handed. The illness of a key volunteer has left a lot of slack in their days.

The Helping Center is the local food pantry for many people in our area. The current need for volunteers is over a wide range of talents. The greatest is for folks (male or female) to stock shelves and fill bag orders. There is also an ongoing need for data entry and filing. If there is someone around that has talent in website design, they could use some of your time also. The Helping Center is located just down Avenue N at the intersection with Broadway so you could be there in less than 5 minutes from the time you walked out of the house. Their hours are 10 am to 12 noon Monday thru Friday, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Monday thru Thursday and closed on Friday afternoons. Stop by and talk to Sam Pearce and see what talents you have to offer. Better yet, take a friend or neighbor along! The main thing to remember is that they will take whatever time you have to offer, from hours daily to minutes weekly.   They are located at 1315 Broadway St, right across from Janie's Mexican Restaurant. Phone 830-693-5689

The Marble Falls Noon Lions Club has kicked off its Annual "COATS FOR KIDS" drive and would greatly appreciate any donations of coats from the public, for children (Size 0 thru school children sizes). There is a need for caps and gloves too. The Lions Club typically distributes about 600 coats per season at no cost to deserving families. You may leave your new or gently used coats, caps and gloves in a special box located at the Meadowlakes security gate and other businesses in Marble Falls.  These coats are for the Marble Falls area and help children that would not have a coat without your generosity. 

Thanks to the generous public that donate coats and money to buy some of the new coats that are distributed.  

This is the 30th Anniversary of the Marble Falls Lions Club and your support is greatly appreciated so that they can continue to help others!   

Residential:  

Odd number addresses: Wednesdays and Saturdays

Even number addresses: Thursdays and Sundays

Commercial: (including large landscapes) Tuesdays and Fridays

Watering Hours: Midnight to 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight.

An advantage in the twice-a-week watering is that it would reduce the wasting of water by minimizing the need and frequency of flushing fire hydrants.  The City has received several calls recently regarding the taste/odor issues with our potable water, which would normally require the flushing of the lines via use of a fire hydrant.

WE'RE GOING SOCIAL!

In our efforts to find more ways to keep you, our residents, better informed about important updates and items of interest, we have created a Facebook page and a Twitter account: