News

August 22, 2007

Stage 1 Water Restrictions Effective August 28

The Raleigh City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, Aug. 7, to authorize  City Manager J. Russell Allen to implement Stage 1 water conservation measures when, in his opinion, the weather conditions, Falls Lake level and customer water demand warrant.

On Tuesday, Aug. 21, the City of Raleigh received information at the North Carolina Drought Advisory Council meeting that lead the City Manager to authorize implementation of the Stage 1 water conservation plan use restrictions effective Tuesday, Aug. 28. The National Weather Service and North Carolina Climatology Office staff presented information on the current long-term weather forecast for the fall and early winter that indicated the drought conditions that all of N.C. has been experiencing over the past two months will very likely continue.

The City of Raleigh Stage 1 mandatory water use restrictions reduce the days  irrigation is allowed to one day per week. Odd property addresses are permitted on Tuesdays and even property addresses on Wednesdays. 

Please refer to the chart listed below for specific information regarding water uses:

The Stage 1 mandatory water use restrictions also limit use of City of Raleigh supplied water for other uses such as washing vehicles at home, power washing driveways, sidewalks, homes, and filling swimming and decorative pools. Irrigation water must be applied slowly to achieve deep penetration and prevent water run-off. Direct watering of impervious surfaces such as streets, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks is prohibited.  

The entire Stage 1 water use restrictions are listed here  or are available by contacting the City of Raleigh Public Utilities at 857-4540 or City of Raleigh Public Affairs Department at 890-3100. For concerned citizens wishing to report violators or for additional information, email waterconservation@ci.raleigh.nc.us.

The Stage 1 mandatory water use restrictions apply to all City of Raleigh water customers, including those in nearby towns that have merged their water and sewer systems with Raleigh and therefore also receive water from Raleigh. Those towns are Garner, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon.

The first violation of the Stage 1 mandatory water restrictions is a $200 fine, and a second violation would result in a $1,000 civil penalty. A third violation would result in interruption of the customer’s water service from the City.

Information regarding record low levels of rainfall and stream flow during the month of August were presented by other state and federal agencies. The US Army Corps of Engineers reported that the water level in Falls Lake is currently down four feet from normal and the remaining water supply pool is 62%. At Raleigh’s current customer water demand level, the water supply pool could be exhausted by early January if extreme weather conditions were to continue. Therefore the City is moving forward with implementing the Stage 1 water conservation plan water use restrictions previously recommended by the Water Conservation Task Force and authorized by the Raleigh City Council. 

Since July 2, City of Raleigh water customers have been limited to using Raleigh water system supplied water for irrigating their lawns on a permanent basis to only three (3) days per week, with odd-numbered addresses allowed to water their lawns and outdoor plants on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and even-numbered addresses on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. No lawn irrigation is permitted on Mondays.

The Stage 1 Mandatory Water Conservation measures being implemented were among the recommendations made by the City’s Water Conservation Task Force in a comprehensive report made last year to the City Council in June 2006.

Prepared by:
Chris Riley
Senior Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department

For More Information Contact:
Dale Crisp
Director
Public Utilities Department
One Exchange Plaza, Suite 620
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-857-4540

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