Board of Directors

The MUD 18 Board of Directors consists of five members elected by registered voters in the District for staggered four-year terms. Nancy Busen retired from the MUD 18 Board effective May 30, and John Crystal was named to serve the remainder of her term, which expires May 2024. Other Board members are Gary Montgomery, Susan McFarland, Rex Cambern and Louis Tichacek.

Tax Rate for 2021

The District assesses ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the District in order to pay its debt obligations and continue to operate and maintain the District’s water and sewer systems. The Board of Directors is committed to levying only the taxes needed to meet these obligations and has lowered the District’s tax rate over the last 10 years. At the September 21, 2021 meeting, the Board continued its commitment and voted to lower the tax rate for 2021 to $0.29 per $100 of valuation from $0.32 per $100 of valuation. That’s a savings of $0.03 per $100 of valuation.

Also at the September meeting the Board voted to pay off $623,535 of callable bonds prior to their expiration date, which will save the MUD district $25,481 in future interest payments.

Suggested Watering Guidelines for Your Property

Proper watering is critical to your lawn’s health and vigor. Deep and infrequent watering is the best practice. This means wetting the soil to a depth of 3 to 5 inches per irrigation. This equates to 1 to 1.25 inches of water per week, split over several days. Your run times should be adjusted based on how dry your yard is. Winter watering should have run times 50% less than your summer run schedule.

Watering is most beneficial to your grass when done in the morning (5 a.m. to 10 a.m.) rather than afternoon or evening. Avoid overnight watering. Early morning watering allows the leaf blades to dry and reduces the risk of disease. Do not water every day or two. Frequent, short watering encourages shallow roots, unhealthy grass plants, and turf susceptible to drought and disease.

Let the turf determine watering frequency. Since heat, humidity and rainfall vary, it’s best to water at the first signs of stress, not on a predetermined schedule. As a note, St. Augustine turf has poor drought tolerance and requires irrigation to survive during our long hot summers.

Water newer plants 3 to 4 times per week for no more than 5 minutes.
Keep the ground around new trees and shrubs moist initially using a soaker hose or drip but gradually back off after two weeks.

Recommended Lawn Watering Schedule

Here are some general lawn-watering guidelines and tips:

Irrigation Spray Head Averages

Pop-up spray head: 10 to 12 minutes, 3 times per week = 1”
Rotary spray heads: 16 to 23 minutes, 3 times per week = 1”

Seasonal Watering Recommendations
  • January & February – Rainfall is usually adequate.
    Water if no rainfall for four weeks.
  • March, April & May
    Water only once per week in the spring if less than one inch of rainfall occurs.
  • June, July, August & Early September
    Water each section heavily at least twice a week if less than one inch rainfall.
  • Late September & October — REDUCE WATER FREQUENCY!
    Early fall is Brown Patch Season, and excess water triggers this disease. During September water only once per week if no rainfall and every two weeks in October if no rain.
  • November & December
    Rainfall is usually adequate. Water if no rainfall for four weeks
Suggested Irrigation System Settings

Some irrigation timers have a seasonal adjustment setting that enables you to reduce or increase watering without changing zone settings. Suggested settings for our area:

  • November, December, January and February- 0%
  • March- 50%
  • April- 70%
  • May- 80%
  • June- 90%
  • July/August- 100%
  • September- 70%
  • October- 50%
Reminders

Encroachments and Easements — If you are new to Bentwater and/or are thinking of changing the structure of your house or yard on any Bentwater property, please review the Bentwater Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions on the POA website. Sections 2.02-2.05 deal with easements. Residents may petition the MUD 18 board for Consents to Encroachment of water, sewer and utility easements.

Reporting a Problem — Do not assume the problem has already been identified or reported. If you observe a water leak, sewer odor, discolored water, open manhole, alarms are sounding, or other problems, please help us by calling Hays Utility Service at 936-588-1166. Hays has someone in Bentwater every day, seven days a week. They can and will respond 24 hours a day. Their general office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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MUD Meetings Open to the Public

Our regularly scheduled monthly meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in the Country Club Cypress Room. Meetings are open to the public. The agenda is posted on our web site and the message board in the breezeway entrance to the Country Club Grill near the Golf Pro-shop. Minutes from meetings are published on the MUD 18 web site.

Your MUD Board:
Susan McFarland, President
Lou Tichacek, Vice President
Gary Montgomery, Treasurer
Rex Cambern, Secretary
John Crystal, Assistant Secretary