“Ultimately, conservation isn’t going to end the drought,” notes Ryan Boyles, the state’s chief climatologist. “What conservation can do is stretch the pool of water until we start getting adequate rainfall.”

Dealing with the worst possible drought scenario is not something North Carolina water managers have made a high priority, said Dave Moreau, director of the N.C. Water Resources Institute.

“We have really not worked out in much detail what you would do if you really had to cut demand by 50 percent,” Moreau said. “Nobody’s willing to talk about it.”

Raleigh has 98 days of water left in Falls Lake, assuming the region receives no rain between October and Jan. 22.

The Raleigh City Council has prohibited home car-washing and most outdoor watering in an effort to stretch the supply. But city manager Russell Allen recommended that the city not institute its most severe restrictions. Those would require eliminating all outdoor watering and requiring carwashes to conserve water to stay open, measures which Mayor Charles Meeker and others have said could cost jobs.

By late October, Durham, Raleigh, Johnston County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro are all expected to have adopted stricter conservation measures. Many customers appear to realize already that this solution must include more than just waiting for a deluge.

Steve Robertson, branch manager with the Tru Green landscaping office in Morrisville, said communities should do more conservation throughout the year. Lawns rarely need to be watered three days a week, he said. “You have to learn how to water properly. It all depends on your soil.”

Rainfall in the area was 12 to 16 inches below normal at LCN?EUR??,,????'???s press time. Mike Moneypenny, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh, said the region needs between 20 and 25 inches of rain during the next four months to replenish its reservoirs.

Source: News and Observer (N.C.)