CARY OFFERS FREE RECLAIMED WATER TO SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

CARY , NC – The Town of  Cary is offering drought-stricken Wake County towns free access to its bulk reclaimed water – highly cleaned wastewater that can be safely used for landscape irrigation, manufacturing processes, industrial cooling, street washing, and dust control at construction sites.  Governments and businesses that agree to follow State guidelines for the free water and are willing to take at least 250 gallons at a time may bring tanker trucks to the Town’s North Cary Water Reclamation Facility off Old Reedy Creek Road Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.   A one-hour, onsite training session is required and may be scheduled by calling (919) 677-0850.  Cary can provide as much 100,000 gallons of bulk reclaimed water a day from this location.

“It’s especially important for neighbors to help each other during challenging times,” said Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister.  “We know the value of reclaimed water because we use it in Cary everyday, and we’re glad to be in a position to offer it to others.”

In 1999, Cary became the first municipality in the state to offer bulk reclaimed water service. The project, which cost about $25,000, was designed to reduce the amount of wastewater going into streams and rivers while also reducing the amount of unnecessary commercial use of drinking water. 

Two years later, Cary expanded the breadth of its reclaimed water service by creating separate pipe systems to take reclaimed water directly to hundreds of homes and businesses near its two reclamation facilities.  The Town also added bulk reclaimed water service to its South Cary Water Reclamation Facility about that same time.  Today, Cary can provide a total of 4.28 million gallons of reclaimed water a day.

In addition to reclaimed water, the Town of Cary has instituted a number of year-round mandatory water conservation measures to help protect the area’s finite water supply.  Since 2000, Cary citizens have followed alternate day watering rules.  The Town also requires rain sensors on irrigation systems and prohibits watering of hard surfaces such as streets, sidewalks and driveways.

“Thanks to years of proactive measures by our Town Council and the continuing support of our citizens, Cary remains in relatively good shape in terms of water supply despite the continuing drought,” said Utilities Director Rob Bonné.

To learn more about the Town of Cary ’s reclaimed water program, see Reclaimed Water at www.townofcary.org.

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