Q&A: Water restrictions for Wake, Johnston counties and beyond. Here's what to know

Much of North Carolina is in a severe drought, with parts of the Triangle in extreme drought conditions. As a result, several municipalities, including Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina, have implemented water restrictions. 

 The city of Raleigh implemented Stage 1 water-use restrictions effective Monday, April 20, until further notice to safeguard the local water supply.

Here's what to know about Raleigh's water restrictions:

Q: What are Raleigh's Stage 1 water restrictions?

Raleigh's Stage 1 water restrictions impact outdoor watering and landscaping. Here's what to know: 

• Automatic and non-automatic spray irrigation is allowed between midnight and 10 a.m. Homes with odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays. Homes with even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesdays. 
• Irrigation of landscapes is recommended at a maximum of one-half inch per week. 
• Water customers must abide by required water use reductions and efficiency measures; penalties apply for noncompliance. 

For full Stage 1 water-use restrictions, visit RaleighNC.gov and search “drought.”

Q: Who falls under Raleigh's water restrictions?

In addition to Raleigh's water customers, some surrounding towns -- Garner, Wake Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon -- all rely on water from the city of Raleigh. It's possible other areas could also impose restrictions as the drought continues. 

Q: How long could Raleigh's water restrictions last?

City of Raleigh environmental coordinator Ed Buchan estimates that the Stage 1 water-use restrictions will continue through at least June, and possibly longer.

"This is a difficult question to answer accurately, but I can say that the forecast for May and June suggests our area may receive above-average amounts of rainfall," Buchan said. "If this occurs in a meaningful way, we could rescind triggers sometime in June or July, as it seems unlikely we will receive enough rainfall in May."

Q: How will Raleigh's water restrictions be enforced, and will people be fined?

Irrigation is monitored using metering technology, and city staff and code enforcement inspectors will also monitor water usage. According to the city of Raleigh's website, the city "will focus on education first, ensuring Raleigh Water customers understand the importance of the conservation measures. Residents who are caught violating the restrictions will be given a warning. After the first infraction, violators will receive civil penalties for subsequent violations."

Q: What would it take for Raleigh's restrictions to reach Stage 2?

Buchan estimates that, based on the current water levels at Falls Lake, it is unlikely the city of Raleigh would enter Stage 2 water restrictions during this drought.

"To enter into Stage 2 in May, the water supply remaining at Falls Lake would need to reach 55%, and it's at 84% currently," Buchan said. "I do not anticipate us entering Stage 2 anytime soon, and likely not at all."

Q: When was the last time Raleigh had water restrictions, and have we ever reached Stage 3, which keeps people from washing their cars or filling their swimming pools?

Raleigh hasn't imposed water restrictions since our last serious drought in 2007 and 2008. Stage 3 did not exist back then, but the city did prohibit all outdoor water use except for sanitation purposes.

Q: What steps have been taken to ensure there is enough water?

Buchan said the city of Raleigh has added a lot of water resources since the last drought, including Lake Wheeler, Lake Benson and a 5.6 billion gallon addition in Falls Lake.

The demand for water has also increased with population growth. According to Buchan, the average use in 2007 was 52 million gallons per day, and it's now around 60 million gallons per day.

Q: Could the city of Raleigh shut off water if the drought gets worse?

A: Interruption of water service is not imposed in Phase 1, Phase 2 or Phase 3. The only time the City might interrupt service is if you violate the rules multiple times or in egregious ways. The first few violations carry fines (different costs depend on what phase we are in). But if you do something crazy, then, yes, they can interrupt your water service, but they would send a notice beforehand.

Q: The current water restrictions mainly impact landscaping and outdoor watering. Will water ever be limited in other ways? 

The purpose of water restrictions is to ensure there is enough water for drinking, cooking, health care, sanitation and other essentials. Car washing, power washing and filling swimming pools are not even restricted until Stage 3, so it's unlikely the water restrictions will impact much more than your yard. 

Q: Is power washing permitted?

It's not restricted in phase 1. But it would be restricted in phase 2.

Q: Do businesses have restrictions?

Yes. Restaurants can't serve water unless customers request. Hotels must ask guests to use towels more than once before the hotel staff can wash those towels. The caveat here is that those rules are in place year-round. Phase 1 does say that businesses should look into water conservation specific to their industry.

Q: What about athletic fields?

Among the exemptions in phase 1 rules is irrigation of athletic fields. So they are good to water there.

Q: What about people on wells?

A: If you are on a service like "Aqua" - they will get in touch with you about this. If it is a private well, there are no restrictions, but you are encouraged to conserve if you can.

Q: Do businesses have restrictions?

Yes. Restaurants can't serve water unless customers request. Hotels must ask guests to use towels more than once before the hotel staff can wash those towels. The caveat here is that those rules are in place year-round. Phase 1 does say that businesses should look into water conservation specific to their industry.

Q: What about athletic fields?

Among the exemptions in phase 1 rules is irrigation of athletic fields. So they are good to water there.

Q: Are there any plans to dredge the reservoirs to increase their capacity?

Answer from City of Raleigh employee Ed Buchanan: In short, the answer is “no,” as this would be something that would have to be undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers (they own and operate Falls Lake). The expense would be enormous, as they would need to remove massive quantities of soil, which in many cases has metals in it and other contaminants. And that means finding a place to put the removed soil would be very, very difficult. I think dredging for smaller reservoirs like Lake Wheeler or Lake Benson is much more plausible in terms of expense and how long it would take, but those reservoirs are relatively small, so even adding 25% more storage volume doesn’t make a truly meaningful, long-term impact.

The town of Fuquay-Varina will activate Stage 1 water conservation measures effective April 24.

The goal of Stage 1 is to reduce overall water consumption by 10%. During Stage 1, Town water customers must abide by the following restrictions. Read the full ordinance here.

Automated irrigation systems

When watering outdoor landscaping with automated irrigation (sprinklers and irrigation systems), customers must follow this schedule:

• If your address ends in an even number, you may only water on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
• If your address ends in an odd number, you may only water on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Customers may hand-water at any time using a handheld watering device. The device must be actively held while in use. Drip irrigation systems are also allowed and do not have to follow the schedule.

Other Fuquay-Varina restrictions:

• No washing down of outside areas (such as driveways, sidewalks, parking lots, building/home exteriors, patios, etc.), unless by a business licensed to do so.
• Only wash vehicles at home on Saturdays and Sundays.
• New and existing pools cannot be completely filled.

Enforcement:

• 1st violation: warning
• 2nd violation: $50 fine
• 3rd violation: suspension of water service

Towns like Apex and Cary operate independent water systems, relying primarily on Jordan Lake as their main water source. Raleigh, on the other hand, depends heavily on Falls Lake.

Here's some of the towns in the Triangle area and what local leaders told us about determining whether to enact restrictions based on their water supply.

The Water Resources team runs a hydrologic model every Monday. On April 13, Durham’s reservoirs were at 84.23% capacity. At this point, the City of Durham has not hit the triggers for increasing our water shortage response level.

Cary operates the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility, (CAWTF), which is a jointly owned facility by Cary and Apex. We supply treated drinking water sourced from Jordan Lake and treated at CAWTF to our citizens and customers in Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Wake County’s portion of Research Triangle Park and the RDU Airport. The water supply pool within Jordan Lake is dependent upon the water level and the rate of withdrawal. The normal pool elevation of Jordan Lake is elevation 216 feet. Presently, the level of Jordan Lake is just above the normal pool elevation at 216.44 feet, which means our allocation for water supply is full at this time. 

As of Sunday, April 26, the town of Holly Springs has not adopted any restrictions, but said they are following with Harnett Couty Regional Water, which expects to adopt some restrictions within the next week.

The current water supply is at 90%. Historically, we are typically between 95-to-100% this time of year, so about 5% below normal. The county's Water Shortage Response Plan calls for a water shortage advisory if we get down to 70% storage for this time of year (from mid-April to mid-September). 

The town's depth as of April 14 was almost 49 feet, which equates to about 262 days of water at our current demand and release. Restrictions trigger with 120 days of remaining.

Orange Alamance Water is currently not on water restrictions. The area operates under a purchase/source water system. The area buys water from the Town of Haw River who buys from the City of Burlington, If Burlington declares water restrictions then we would have to as well. Our source water comes from the Eno River which is monitored by the Orange County Planning and Inspections Department. After speaking with them today and not much rain forecasted we could be looking to start restrictions in the next few weeks.

TriRiver Water is not experiencing a water shortage at this time. We have multiple water plants that pull water from different areas, and generally speaking our supply is very resilient.

Johnston County are encouraging customers to reduce non-essential water use whenever possible. That includes limiting outdoor watering, washing vehicles less often, and fixing leaks around homes and businesses.

While the conservation request is voluntary, customers are reminded that year-round outdoor watering restrictions remain in place under Johnston County’s mandatory conservation policy.

Under those rules:

• Odd-numbered addresses may irrigate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
• Even-numbered addresses may irrigate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
• No irrigation is allowed on Mondays.

Residents filling swimming pools should follow the same schedule as their designated irrigation days.

Johnston County Public Utilities said it will continue monitoring river levels, water demand, and drought conditions and provide updates as needed.

Q: How serious is this drought?

WRAL meteorologists are closely monitoring our drought. So far, it's the driest year-to-date on record at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. In addition to water restrictions, we still have a statewide burn ban in place until further notice.

The severe drought, shown in orange, has expanded across North Carolina. The latest data shows the worsening drought is expected to last into the summer until at least the end of July.

In our area, we need 8 to 10 inches of rain in a month to return to a drought-free status. There's just a 1% to 2% chance that this could happen within the next month.