Curbs on Water Relaxed

BY TOM EMBREY: STAFF WRITER

Moore County is easing restrictions on water but is still reminding customers to be careful in using it.

On April 1, Moore County will drop down to Stage 2 water restrictions for its customers, including Pinehurst, Seven Lakes, Pinewild, McLendon Hills, Love Grove and West End. Much of the area had been under Stage 3 mandatory restriction since October.

Stage 2 still calls for a 30 percent reduction in use.

"This is still a significant restriction," Moore County Public Works Director Dennis Brobst said. "We continue to ask people to water only when necessary. Our goal is still a 30 percent reduction."

Stage 3 mandatory

restrictions call for cutting water usage by 50 percent.

Under Stage 2 restrictions, customers on the county system are allowed to irrigate between the hours of 5 p.m. and midnight twice a week. Swimming pools may be filled only to replenish losses due to evaporation. Car washing is still prohibited.

Brobst said county officials have been monitoring the water situation closely, and after careful consideration and consultation with state and local experts, have determined that it was time to ease restrictions. He pointed to several factors for the change.

First, Moore County has had higher than average rainfall in three of the previous six months. That has helped replenish and stabilize the aquifer.

Second, the county is nearing completion of an expansion of the East Moore Water system, which will boost capacity by more than a million gallons per day.

And finally, it is growing season.

"We met with master gardeners and other experts, and they said it is getting to the point where the plants and shrubs need some water," Brobst said.

The county system remains under Stage 3 restrictions until Tuesday. Under Stage 3 restrictions, most outdoor watering of lawns, shrubbery, flowers and vegetable gardens is prohibited. So are filling swimming pools and wading pools and other unnecessary watering.

Elsewhere in Moore County, a number of towns, such as Aberdeen, Southern Pines and Carthage, have been seeking voluntary water conservation.

Voluntary restrictions are in place throughout North Carolina by order of Gov. Mike Easley. He is still urging all residents to continue their water conservation efforts since the latest federal drought map shows that 97 of the state's 100 counties are still in some form of drought.

"We had some good rain the last few weeks, but that does not mean that we now have plenty of water," Easley said. "The rain helps but spring is coming, which means water use goes up and evaporation loss increases. We are still looking at some tough months as we go forward, so people need to continue to conserve."

The latest federal drought map shows no counties still in exceptional drought, down from 39 counties that were in the worst of the four-category system the week before. Also, 37 counties are experiencing extreme drought, and 15 are in moderate drought. Three coastal counties, Carteret, Dare and New Hanover, are abnormally dry. Abnormally dry means that drought is not present but could develop without rain.

Despite the improvements, residents need to remain vigilant in their efforts to conserve water, Easley said in a news release. Statewide, 5.56 million residents, or 82 percent of those who receive water from systems tracked by the state, are subject to voluntary or mandatory water-use restrictions.

Recently, Easley announced a three-part legislative package to modernize the state's more than 600 public water systems; mandate water conservation and efficiency by water systems, businesses and private individuals; and upgrade the response to water emergencies, including giving the governor more power to take action prior to a declaration of a public health and safety emergency.

Easley also unveiled a new Web site, SaveWaterNC.org, with the goal of convincing the public to continue saving water to avoid a crisis in the current drought and to instill the need for continued water conservation even when the drought is over.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2473 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.