FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                     August 30, 2007

CARY CONSIDERS PLANS FOR CONTINUING DROUGHT

Citizens could have to cut irrigation if lake level drops much further

CARY , NC – For now, water customers in Cary and Morrisville can water three days a week according to year-round alternate day watering rules, but this could change if conditions at the Town’s water supply continue to deteriorate.  With the level of B. Everett Jordan Lake dropping and the temperature of the lake running high, Cary officials are signaling that they could have to severely limit outdoor automated watering in the coming weeks. 

“Our situation is a little different from our neighbors,” said Interim Public Works and Utilities Director Mike Bajorek.  “Right now, our concern isn’t really about having enough lake water to treat or enough treatment capacity in the plant; it’s about having enough good quality lake water to make into high quality drinking water.”  

As water temperatures rise and the available lake water decreases, the amount of dissolved oxygen – and quality of the water – declines, making it challenging for the Town’s water treatment plant to produce all the high quality drinking water customers in Cary , Morrisville, and Apex are accustomed to.

Jordan Lake has dropped from its normal level of 216 feet to about 212 feet; temperatures climb during the day to as much as 89 degrees.  With the top of the lake now about four feet above Cary’s upper raw water intake and about eight feet from the lower intake, officials estimate that the trigger point for significant water quality challenges– and changes in watering rules – is likely around 211 feet based on what they’ve learned from the 2002 drought. 

While any changes in watering rules will be made based on the specific conditions at the time, the changes likely would involve reducing—even possibly temporarily eliminating—the number of days people could water outside using automated devices such as irrigation systems and sprinklers.  By further limiting the amount of water that goes on the ground, Cary should be able to produce plenty of drinking water for non-irrigation uses if lake water quality deteriorates.

To ensure that the right decision is made at the right time, town staff is monitoring the lake level and temperature daily and lake water quality around the clock.

Bajorek pointed out that another difference between Cary and some other places is the culture of conservation the community has adopted over the last several years.

“From open space preservation to biosolids drying to reclaimed water to regulating clear cutting to mandating 100-foot undisturbed stream buffers to recycling computers, Cary is a leader in our commitment to preserving and protecting our finite natural resources,” said Bajorek.  “As for water, our citizens have been doing their part to conserve every day for the last seven years through their support of several watering rules including mandatory year-round alternate day watering.  While we hope we won’t have to ask them to do more, we know they’ll do their best if the need arises.”

Believing that using water wisely is the right thing to do all the time, Cary adopted mandatory, year-round alternate day watering rules in May 2000.  The last time the Town had to deviate from these rules was from early August 2002 through much of October 2002 when the statewide drought led the Town to reduce outdoor watering days from three to two for residential customers and from thee to one for commercial customers.           

For more about the Town of Cary ’s water supply, demand, and comprehensive conservation efforts, click on the H20 icon at www.townofcary.org.

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