Water shortage in effect

I keep looking at all the announcements I've seen about these new restrictions and, maybe my eyesight is failing me, but where are penalties for violators? I believe that both Wake and Durham have penalties of 200-250 dollars for the first violation and they increase rapidly for subsequent violations. Can I assume that the OWASA board is so confidant in Orange County residents' willingness to comply that they felt penalties are unnecessary?

In partial answer to my question, this just arrived from the Chapel Hill eNews:

"Mayor Kevin C. Foy proclaimed a Stage I Water Shortage in the Town of Chapel Hill today (Friday, Sept. 28) due to low water levels at University Lake and Cane Creek Reservoirs, where levels are down by about 42 percent.

The Town of Chapel Hill calls upon all customers and users of OWASA water in the Town of Chapel Hill to follow the Stage I water use restrictions, as provided in the Town's ordinance. Violation of the Town's Water Shortage Ordinance shall be a misdemeanor punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding $50 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days."

Doesn't provide an answer for any of the other communities served by OWASA.

1000 gal/day!?! I think our household of 2 uses about 2000 gal/MONTH. I seriously can't imagine using that much water.

I'm outside OWASA, but I don't water my lawn at all, though I do water my herb and veggie garden when the plants look droopy. I've also started turning the water off between steps in my shower (while lathering.) I'm trying to figure out how to collect greywater and store it for garden watering purposes (what else to do with water that would otherwise go down the drain, but is perfectly good?)

I'm glad to see that I am not the only person incensed by the 1,000 gallons per day "restriction" on those who have inground irrigation systems.

I run an irrigation company that specializes in water management and BMP. There is nothing wrong with an underground sprinkler system if it's properly installed and managed, but many folks go with a cheap price and wind up with an inefficient sprinkler system that wastes more water than it uses.
Perhaps OWASA could regulate installations by certified irrigation contractors, and get the cheap installers out of the market. Cary has done just that, and many of the low end installers have disappeared.
Also, educating the public on just how much water they need to use instead of them thinking more is better.

Be surprized. The average area household (without a sprinkler system) uses 3000 gallons per person per month.
This includes everything from toilets, hygene, laundry, and cooking. Don't kid yourself with your own water bill at home if you eat out alot, spend much of your time away from home at work or school or use a laundry mat. You are still using water elsewhere.
And please remember to support your area farmers and microfarmers. They've struggled to keep their crops watered (many from wells) to bring you the local, organic produce and products they offer.

One concern I have is that I suspect this drought is part of a long-term climate shift. What happens when the drought extends for another 5 years of minimal rainfall? While I certainly hope I'm wrong, our local governments need to be well prepared for the worst.

As for me, my lawn is dead and my car is ugly, and that's fine with me.

Will, the Town of HIllsborough has a flat rate up to 5000 gal water/5000 sewer. We've never exceeded that in 6 years. We've got an environmentally-unfriendly top-loading washer (looking to replace in the next few years.) Our shower is low flow, we have low-flow toilets (1.6 gpf), and we turn the water off while brushing teeth, etc etc etc.

I don't think I use more than 20 gallons a day at work (even with the old-school non-low-flow toilets at my job), and we eat out once a week or so.

One of the things my mom drilled into me was conserving utilities (water, electricity, etc.) I've also got about 80% original bulbs in my light fixtures -- that are 6.5 years old.

The post was the "average" household. You are an example of what water conservation yields. I share my home with 4 other adults and we share a well with another house also with five people. We all co-operate in retaining our water resourses, such as water re-use whenever possible and catching rain water, etc.
Rhodes creek, a tributary of the Eno river, runs near our property and, except for what the beaver has caught behind it's dam, has been dry for about 6 or 7 weeks. The drought of 2002 was relieved after a tropical storm filled the lakes, but I don't see that happening for us anytime soon.
Keep in mind, OWASA is a utility and makes money selling water. They do have revenue parameters that they try to meet. Many of thier policies are based on selling water, not turning it off.
As far as climate change, it is occuring, but look at any trees or stumps that have been cut, and you can see from the rings that there are wet and dry cycles every 30 or so years. According to most I've seen lately (Jordan Lake timber logging ), we are in a dry part of the cycle.

Will Shooter,
Can you tell me how to learn about climate cycles from studying the rings of trees. It would be great to learn how to do so. Thanks.

Will--you are correct that OWASA is a self-sustaining non-profit and must generate revenue in order to continue operations. And while some of their policies do function to preserve revenues (such as the 1,000 gallon limit for inground irrigation system), more policies promote conservation.

For those interested in purchasing water efficient fixtures, the EPA just released a final specification for bathroom sink faucets. WaterSense is the water conservation equivalent EnergyStar. They also have specs for toilets, irrigation controls, and kitchen sinks: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/index.htm

We can't replace the toilets right now, so have instituted a rhyme from our childhoods. (DH grew up with a cistern, I , a well)--

"If it's yellow, let it mellow..."

Okay, we could spend thousands of household dollars on water conserving products (fancy toilets, washing machines, shower heads, etc.) or simply use less water. I'm especially vigilant in the kitchen. Cooking leads to frequent hand washing and dish washng, and final clean-up. One sink full of hot soapy water, about two gallons, goes the distance.

When the mister and I were first hooking up, he asked me why I never drain dishwater. I told him it gets to live as long as it's warm.

Mythbusting on expensive water-saving toilets:

The Toto Carusoe is ranked one of the very best low-flush toilets and can be purchased for $131 at Wilkinson Supply opposite OWASA on Jones Ferry Rd.

Mythbusting on OWASA:

OWASA is one of the best utilities in the country and is driven less by narrow concerns for increasing revenue than a typical utility. The main reason for this is that it is a municipally-owned utility and they receive direction through the local governmenst that own it and appoint board members. Check out their website: owasa.org for more info.

George C.
It's called dendrocronology. An excellent and celebrated example can be found in the North Carolina Natural Museum in Raleigh. Also, in a sad note, The North Carolina Wildlife Agency has been selling timber along popular areas of Jordan Lake. Especially areas where old growth trees have been cut down and left to rot simply for being in the way of "harvest". I'll send you a link if you'd like.
But I digress. The subject is water restrictions and conservation.

Will S and Mark C,

Thanks to you both and thanks to you Mark for the link. Very interesting. Gives me more food for thought while walking through the woods.

Long before any drought, we installed a circulating pump on our hot water heater because it drive us crazy to waste water while waiting for it to get hot. We also make sure to collect whatever small amount of cool water that still comes out of the tap in a watering can and I use it for houseplants and the bird/squirrel bath.

When I was on the OWASA Board (1999-2006), we worked on a 50 year plan that will meet our local water needs through conservation and the expanded quarry (about 2030). We specifically avoided the Jordan Lake option due to expense, lack of local control, and the more sustainable concervation and local watershed solutions.

Unless there has been a dramatic shift in policy by the current Board, I'm not aware that OWASA is not seriously considering getting water from Jordan Lake.

Did the Board of Alderman misunderstood the OWASA Stage 1 water shortage restrictions? According to the this mornings Herald-Sun, they passed a resolution asking Carrboro residents to restrict their total water use to 500-gallons per day: "OWASA is calling for homeowners to restrict their use to 1,000 gallons a day, or some 30,000 gallons a month."

But the press release OWASA sent out last week specifically states the drought restriction is only for IRRIGATION:

Water use by individually metered residential customer accounts and by individually- metered single family residential irrigation-only accounts is limited to an average of one thousand (1,000) gallons per day during any monthly billing cycle. OWASA may terminate service if this limit is exceeded.

I'm sorry the Aldermen didn't choose to make a more forceful statement against IRRIGATION, even though it's a good thing for us all to reduce water consumption everywhere.

Terri,

30,000 gallons a month per meter. I've never had any customer in the OWASA area ever use that much, even without restrictions. Even with damaged pipes.
I did the calculations on several IRRIGATION systems that I manage and the average use per house per IRRIGATION cycle is about 550 gallons.
With current water restrictions, that comes to about 2700 gallons per month. Far under the 30,000 gallon IRRIGATION assumption.

2700 gallons per month on landscaping is still more than my total monthly consumption. The lakes are 54% full and we have a dry winter predicted. Without the winter refresh, we will be in serious trouble by spring. Do you really want to take that risk just for the sake of landscaping?

What portion of the land is being emptied for the sake of grass? I've lost hundreds of dollars of landscaping this year so I know the financial implications. It breaks my heart to look at all my dead plants. But to me there is no ethical tradeoff between my plants and someone else's access to clean drinking water.

Typo correction: What portion of the lakes are being emptied for the sake of grass?

Interesting article from the NY Times referenced in Rachel's List this morning:

http://www.precaution.org/lib/07/prn_analyzing_failure_beforehand.070922...
Excerpted from: The New York Times (pg. B1), September 22, 2007

ANALYZING FAILURE BEFOREHAND By Paul B. Brown

Post-mortems, trying to figure out why a new idea failed, are a common business process. But wouldn't "pre-mortems" make more sense?

They would, argues Gary Klein, chief scientist at Klein Associates, a division of Applied Research Associates, which works with companies to show them how to conduct pre-mortems and "identify risks at the outset."

"A pre-mortem in a business setting comes at the beginning of a project rather than the end, so the project can be improved rather than autopsied," Mr. Klein explains in The Harvard Business Review.

In the pre-mortem, company officials assume they have just learned that a product or a service they are about to introduce has "failed spectacularly." They then write down every plausible reason they can think of to explain the failure. The list is then used to eliminate potential flaws before the new idea is actually introduced into the marketplace.

While companies frequently engage in risk analysis beforehand, employees are often afraid to speak up, fearing they will be seen as naysayers or will suffer the political consequences of objecting to an idea that is popular internally.

An exercise that assumes the new idea fails frees people to be more candid, and can, Mr. Klein writes, serve as a check on the "damn-the- torpedoes attitude often assumed by people who are overinvested in a project."

I mis-typed. OWASA has not been planning to use Jordan Lake water. OWASA does own land on the lake that Chatham wants to get access to for an intake. I hope we don't enable their over-consumptive behavior.

Mark M--If it were only paying for the toilets, I might be able to swing replacing them. But plumbers are expensive...and I don't have the skills to re-set a toilet myself. Maybe next paycheck. I spent my last chunk o' household improvement change on our new frontloading washing machine.

In the meantime--I'm flushing less often. And keeping a bucket in the shower. Actually, a recirculating pump for the hot water might be a better choice for my next investment. It takes FOREVER for the water to run hot in my shower...

Melanie,

I can install a low flow toilet for you, much cheaper than a plumber. You pick out the toilet, and pay for it, and I'll just charge you labor.

Will--let me talk to my husband--we may take you up on that!

Instead of just a low-flow toilet, consider one with a dual flush mechanism. We've been installing dual flush retrofits on campus and are quite pleased with the water savings. The dual flush is 1.2 gpf for liquid and 1.6 gpf for solids. Low flow toilets are 1.6 gpf. I don't know what residential brands to recommend though.

"1000 gal/day!?! I think our household of 2 uses about 2000 gal/MONTH. I seriously can't imagine using that much water."

We use about 4000/four people/month.

Not to sound like a broken record, but I'd really love to see a permanent moratorium on construction in new areas (forests). New subdivisions put a new strain on the water supply (and school system and services), and the national housing slump does not appear to have diminished the destructive fervor of the scumbag "builders".

One of the concerns about going to Jordan Lake is that its water quality is not nearly as good as that of University Lake and Cane Creek. We're talking protected watersheds for the latter, and unprotected for the former. One needs to use the best sources of raw water first. As our local great in the field, Dan Okun, once said, in quoting his mentor, Gordon Fair, "When it comes to drinking water, I prefer the virginal to the repentent." (Here, the word "drinking" is an adjective, not a verb.)

One of the concerns about going to Jordan Lake is that its water quality is not nearly as good as that of University Lake and Cane Creek. We're talking protected watersheds for the latter, and unprotected for the former. One needs to use the best sources of raw water first. As our local great in the field, Dan Okun, once said, in quoting his mentor, Gordon Fair, "When it comes to drinking water, I prefer the virginal to the repentant." (Here, the word "drinking" is an adjective, not a verb.)

OWASA sent out a press release yesterday with the following information:
Our Cane Creek Reservoir and University Lake are about 53% full.
The community's average water demand from October 4 to 11 was 9.7 million gallons per day, which is substantially higher than the target of 8.3 million gallons per day for October during a Stage One water shortage.
Based on projected demands, and with about 1.8 billion gallons of water in our two primary reservoirs, we have enough water in storage to last 5 to 6 months without additional rainfall.
Our reservoirs have received no water flow since early August from the creeks and streams that normally feed them.
Rainfall to date in October has totaled only about 0.1 of an inch, compared to the historical average of 4 inches in October. Rainfall has been more than 7 inches below normal in the past 12 months. October and November are normally the two driest months of the year in our area.
The NC Drought Monitoring Council recently redesignated the drought conditions for our area as “exceptional,” a more severe rating than the previous “extreme” drought level.

(sorry--bullet tags didn't work above, reprinting for legibility)

OWASA sent out a press release yesterday with the following information:

--Our Cane Creek Reservoir and University Lake are about 53% full.

--The community's average water demand from October 4 to 11 was 9.7 million gallons per day, which is substantially higher than the target of 8.3 million gallons per day for October during a Stage One water shortage.

--Based on projected demands, and with about 1.8 billion gallons of water in our two primary reservoirs, we have enough water in storage to last 5 to 6 months without additional rainfall.

--Our reservoirs have received no water flow since early August from the creeks and streams that normally feed them.
Rainfall to date in October has totaled only about 0.1 of an inch, compared to the historical average of 4 inches in October. Rainfall has been more than 7 inches below normal in the past 12 months. October and November are normally the two driest months of the year in our area.

--The NC Drought Monitoring Council recently redesignated the drought conditions for our area as “exceptional,” a more severe rating than the previous “extreme” drought level.

This is getting dicey. What is to be done? On the local level, we/OWASA could get busy on ordinances requiring non-potable use of reclaimed water for non-residential buildings over a certain size. This means dual plumbing systems in large buildings. In many places, small wastewater treatment systems reside in the building basements, piping reclaimed water back up to flush toilets, for cooling, and for irrigation. Thus, at Carolina North, the University need not build a large water reclamation plant to start out. Initial buildings just have to have the right stuff in the basements. The residuals (i.e. sludge) go down the sewer for handling at the local treatment plant, making things very simple. There are model ordinances in use in many jurisdictions that could readily be brought to bear here; no need to reinvent the wheel. It's time to lead the way!

On the individual level, we can do things like:

--bathe (bathing generally uses less water than showering),
--bathe with a friend,
--only flush when necessary,
--save the bathwater for plants, and for toilet flushing. (An interesting experiment: quickly pour a bucketfull of water into a toilet...it will self flush if enough water is used).
--Do xeriscaping (e.g. http://www.xeriscape.org/whatis.html)

Barnes B.--xeriscaping sound like a great idea...heck it IS a great idea. A few caveats...

Even "xeriscape" plants need watering until they are established. Depending on the plant--that can mean supplemental watering for a few months ( small perennials) to a couple of years (trees and some shrubs.)

Secondly---we aren't ALWAYS so very dry. Sometimes we are ever-so-wet. Lots of folks "xeriscaped" after the drought of 2002...only to have many of their plantings drown/rot in the the deluge of 2003. (The driest year on record was followed by one of the wettest.) Care must be taken. I have a mix of plants in my landscape... and it is surviving...barely. We do recycle our bathwater and such.

Good thought on xeriscaping. Maybe there's a book on "Xeriscaping for wet climates." Perhaps the NC State ag folks can help on this issue.

No other thoughts, from the candidates, on what they are willing to commit to trying? I thought some of them participate in this web site.

At today's state water conference, one of the speakers showed aerial photographs of Jordan and Falls of the Neuse Lakes. Both lake beds look like deserts. In each there is one flowing creek--both of which are fed by sewer outakes (Morgan and one from Durham).

According to today's news OWASA may be raising their rates again because conservation is cutting into their operational budgets. But I've also heard that OWASA isn't seeing the level of conservation they target for stage 2 guidelines. In another article Triangle J is saying that the local populace (Durham/Raleigh) isn't getting the conservation message. "Even if we do get relief this spring, water levels will drop faster this coming year than they did the year previous" unless Triangle residents change their behavior and Triangle leaders change their game plans, he (Triangle J Council of Governments Water Resource Manager Sydney Paul Miller) said.

In response Barry Jacobs said, "We have to start challenging our assumption that growth is unlimited," said Jacobs, adding that valuable recommendations made by the N.C. Commission on Smart Growth have been all but ignored by local governments. The more people you put in the lifeboat, the faster it's going to sink," he said.

Thank goodness someone is putting it out on the table. Those pictures of the lake beds were just plain scary.