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The City of Raleigh – facing a
water-supply lake that is diminishing by
the day and a prediction by state
drought officials that there is limited
chance, barring a hurricane, for the 15
to 25 inches of rain needed to stem the
drought – imposed Stage 1 water
conservation regulations on Tuesday,
Aug. 28.
The rules apply to all
410,000 water users in the city, Wake
Forest, Rolesville, Garner, Knightdale,
Wendell and Zebulon. Raleigh owns the
water and sewer systems in those six
town. Those who do not obey the new
rules can be fined $200 for the first
offense, $1,000 for the second and have
their water cut off for the third.
The rules generally limit
irrigation or watering of lawns and
shrubs to one day a week and vehicle and
outdoor cleaning to the weekends.
Specifically:
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Outdoor watering by any kind of
sprinkler/irrigation system whether
in the ground or at the end of hose
is limited to one day a week.
Property owners with odd-numbered
addresses may water on Tuesdays,
those with even-numbered addresses
on Wednesdays – BUT only from
6 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 10 p.m.
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If you hold the hose in your hand,
you may water on Tuesdays and
Saturdays if your address has an odd
number, on Wednesdays and Sundays if
your address has an even number
BUT again only from 6 to 10 a.m.
and 6 to 10 p.m.
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Washing of vehicles with City of
Raleigh water is only permitted on
Saturdays and Sundays.
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Pressure washing of sidewalks,
driveways and buildings with City of
Raleigh water is only permitted on
Saturdays and Sundays.
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People may fill pools only to
maintain sanitary conditions.
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Make sure you are not watering the
sidewalk or the street when you
water your grass or shrubs. The
Raleigh water police are going to be
vigilant to make sure you do not
waste water in that fashion.
A Gazette reader had a
warning, saying that the new water
restrictions, though necessary, could
destroy a lawn.
“The reason is that a small amount of
watering in hot, dry weather will cause
the grass roots to grow up toward the
surface looking for more water rather
than growing down (which is natural)
looking for water. When the roots grow
up they are, of course, more vulnerable
to the heat and the small amount of
watering does more harm than good.
It’s better not to water at all, in this
case, and let nature take its course.”
The other solution for a
lawn is to water slowly that one day a
week, letting the water soak in without
running off, and apply about an inch of
water. The rule of thumb is that most
grasses and plants need an inch of
water, preferably rain, a week. Use a
rain gauge to determine how much water
you are applying.
The Town of Cary has long
provided homeowners with gauges that
look like empty tuna fish cans. If the
can is full, you have watered enough.
Wake County is in a severe
drought. For information about drought
conditions, go to
http://www.ncwater.org/Drought_Management/
or see the recommendations at
http://www.ncdrought.org. |
