It is that time of year when gardeners and homeowners begin to watch the skies to see if there will be rain enough to water the lawn, flowers and bushes or if they need to add the water themselves.
            Watering is fine, but in the wake of the serious drought in 2007-2008 the Raleigh City Council approved permanent everyday water conservation rules that apply to Wake Forest residents because Raleigh owns the water system. (Just a note: Wake Forest residents are still paying the water and sewer rates in effect in town in 2005 when Raleigh took over the systems.)
            First, no irrigation at all is allowed on Mondays.
            Residents and businesses who use automatic or non-automatic irrigation systems may water from midnight to 10 a.m. Those who have odd-numbered addresses may irrigate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; those who have even-numbered addresses may irrigate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
            For those residents who use hose-end sprinklers, they may be run from 6 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. on the same odd-even address schedule as those using irrigation systems.
            Asked about those people who water holding a hose, Raleigh’s Public Utilities Director Dale Crisp replied: “So long as the customer is holding the hose in their hand, there are no restrictions; however, if they lay the hose down on their lawn or landscaping and leave it running, we would consider that irrigation and they must comply with the irrigation schedule for their property address.”
          There are also no restrictions on whose who hand-water with a pail or watering can.
            All watering must be done to prevent water from being wasted on impervious surfaces: driveways, sidewalks, streets and parking lots.
            In Wake Forest, new in-ground automatic or non-automatic irrigation systems are allowed, but owners are not allowed to connect the systems to the municipal water supply. Instead, owners must use well or pond water.
            The everyday conservation measures apply to local restaurants and hotels. Restaurants may only serve drinking water when a customer requests it. Hotels and motels must ask guests spending more than one night to use the towels and bed linens more than once between laundering.           
          A first violation of the water conservation rules will result in a written warning, a civil penalty of $50 for a second violation, and $200 for a third violation.  A fourth violation will result in interruption of the customer’s water service.