CARY, NC – The warm, dry weather of the past two weeks has driven up water demand significantly in Cary and surrounding areas, prompting officials to issue public education reminders of the Town’s year-round, alternate day outdoor watering law which went into effect just over one year ago. On Tuesday, total usage jumped dramatically when customers took a record 19.3 million gallons of water from the 23.63 million gallons maximum daily supply of the Cary-Apex system; that’s roughly 82 percent of all the water available that day. On Wednesday, about 19.1 million gallons of water was used.

On Wednesday, Cary sent the second in a series of direct-mail postcards to about 33,000 Cary water customers reminding them of the Town’s several watering laws; reminders will begin running on local radio next week and on television the following week. This is in addition to newspaper reminders that the Town has run during the last month.

"While May is often a high-demand month, this week’s numbers are some of the highest we’ve ever seen for this time of year," said Cary’s Public Works & Utilities Director Kim Fisher. "We need folks to continue to do a good job with alternate day as well as be mindful of the amount of water they’re using on there watering days. They only need one inch of water a week."

Under Cary’s year-round, alternate day law, outdoor watering of grass, gardens, bushes, and other landscape materials is limited to three days a week depending on the property’s street address. Water outdoors those properties with odd number street addresses—such as 315 Main Street--only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Even number addresses –such as 316 Main Street--may water outdoors only on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. NO OUTDOOR WATERING IS ALLOWED ON MONDAYS. The new law includes outdoor hand watering as well as outdoor automated watering with irrigation systems and sprinklers.

Cary’s mandatory watering program, which was went into effect May 1, 2000, comes with tough enforcement rules--for first offenders, a one-time warning notice. Citations will follow for subsequent violations, carrying civil penalties of $100 for the first citation, $250 for the second, $500 for the third, and $1,000 for each subsequent citation. In addition to or in lieu of civil penalties, violation of the alternate day watering law is a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable for each violation by a fine of up to $500 and/or incarceration for up to 30 days. And if all else fails, the Town Manager has the authority to suspend a customer’s water service—in whole or in part—if he determines that an imminent water emergency exists and/or that the customer has failed to comply with the alternate day watering program on numerous occasions. Thus far this year, Cary has not had to issue any warning notices or citations.

Because of their water supply contracts with Cary, the Wake County portion of the Research Triangle Park as well as the Raleigh-Durham International Airport must abide by the mandatory alternate day rules, although RDU does have discretion over using the water they draw from their private wells. As a part owner in the water treatment plant, Apex can make its own water conservation rules and currently calling for voluntarily alternate day watering by Apex customers.

If excessive watering begins to threaten the stability of the Cary-Apex water system this summer, mandatory watering restrictions such as "one day a week watering" could be warranted to ensure the ability to meet critical water needs. Such a situation occurred last summer when Cary was forced to institute mandatory watering restrictions for non-residential customers from June 14^th-October 3^rd. During that period, businesses, apartment complexes, homeowners’ associations, and all other non single-family residential water customers in Cary and Apex as well as RDU and the Wake County portion of the Research Triangle Park were prohibited from using any automated outdoor watering systems to irrigate landscape materials including but not limited to automatic irrigation systems, sprinklers, and soaker hoses. All non-residential watering of grass/lawns was banned; however, non-residential users could hand-water plants, flowers, and gardens according to their alternate day watering schedule. However, these restrictions had no effect on single family residential customers.

###