<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2S5DSn_1GzhEQoO00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2S5DSn_1GzhEQoO00" width="840" height="630" ><figcaption>Jonathan Clark / Zenstratus American Tobacco Campus and Lucky Strike watertower, Durham, North Carolina, United States. 11 August 2024</figcaption></figure>After months of unrelenting drought, the City of Durham now has less than 80 days of easily accessible water left. When including less accessible sources and emergency storage, the city has enough water for just under 150 days.Durham, like much of North Carolina, has been subject to months of intense drought. The city's two primary reservoirs, Lake Mitchie and Little River, are sitting at roughly a third of their combined capacity. Both received only 0.16 inches of rainfall over the past month, according to the city.As of Nov. 9, Durham had 78 days of easily accessible water and a total supply of 147 days. James Lim, Durham's water efficiency manager, emphasized these estimates apply only if no additional water enters the watershed, such as if the rivers stopped feeding into the reservoirs and no rain comes in the next few months.<h2>Durham's water status:</h2>Durham entered stage 2 water restrictions in June. If the water supply continues to dwindle, the city will go into stage 3 restrictions — which pauses outdoor water use — or stage 4, an emergency rationing point."We have not hit the trigger for stage three yet, but it's definitely a possibility," Lim said.To address consumer demand, Durham is purchasing water from across the Triangle. Lim said the city is receiving 2 million gallons of water a day from the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), as well as collecting about 9 million gallons a day from its allocation of Jordan Lake through the Town of Cary. Jamie Revels, the utilities director for the Town of Cary, said Cary is supporting Durham through interconnected water systems constructed after the 2007-08 drought.Durham is also pulling 3 to 4 million gallons a day from Teer Quarry, its emergency storage supply."80 days does seem really short, but also, we have that time to implement other strategies, which would include possibly more restrictions, but also accessing other sources of water," Lim said.An estimated 5.9 million people are living in drought-afflicted areas across the state. Most of the Triangle is experiencing severe and even extreme drought conditions.<h2>Ways to Reduce Household Water Use </h2>As the drought progresses, conservation efforts will depend partly on Triangle residents. Experts from across municipalities shared these tips to conserve water in daily life.<ul><li>Pause or limit irrigation</li><li>Fix any leaks immediately</li><li>Take showers instead of baths</li><li>Turn the faucet off when brushing your teeth</li><li>Only wash clothes/dishes when the loads are full</li></ul>More ways to conserve water:However, Durham's water supply is in a more critical state than other municipalities across the Triangle. Raleigh lifted its water restrictions in August and currently has about 63% of its supply remaining. For Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents, OWASA's reservoirs are also sitting at just over 60%, with enough water for about 280 more days without any rainfall.Lim said Durham's watershed is significantly smaller than nearby water sources, such as Falls Lake and Jordan Lake. The little rain to hit in the Triangle in recent weeks fell south of the city. This past Friday, he said, over an inch of rain fell in southern Durham, but not even a tenth of an inch made it into the reservoirs.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3dorUR_1GzhEQoO00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3dorUR_1GzhEQoO00" width="840" height="630" ><figcaption>Mehmet Demirci / WUNC News A drone shot of Falls Lake shows low water levels on October 22, 2026.</figcaption></figure><h2>Water supply across the Triangle: </h2>Ed Buchan, the assistant director of Raleigh Water, said the ongoing drought is likely to be the city's drought of record, or the most severe drought recorded in its history."The previous drought of record was '07-08," he said. "This one may be replacing it, and it also may be somewhat representative of the impacts of climate variability, climate change on our weather patterns in this area."But despite the drought's ongoing severity, Buchan doesn't expect Raleigh to reinstate its water restrictions.He said forecasts predict above-average rainfall in Raleigh for the upcoming months. As temperatures are cooling off, less water is evaporating. People are also using less water to maintain their yards, so demand is dropping off."Overall, Raleigh is in good shape, and we are poised to perhaps assist other utilities that may run into a problem later on this year, because we know other systems have less available water supply," Buchan said.Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents are in a similar situation. OWASA will issue a water shortage advisory if capacity hits 50% and will enter stage one restrictions if supply levels drop to 40% this month. OWASA Public Information Officer Katie Hall doesn't anticipate either happening."We did not have to issue a water shortage advisory over the summer," she said. "We got really close — at one point, we were one percentage point away from having to issue a water shortage advisory."Hall said OWASA sold water to Durham in the summer and resumed selling to the neighboring municipality about a week ago.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=27VXJz_1GzhEQoO00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=27VXJz_1GzhEQoO00" width="840" height="560" ><figcaption>Lauren Rhodes The Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), located in Carrboro, N.C., on Feb. 24, 2026.</figcaption></figure>OWASA will continue supplying Durham with water at least through November. If other municipalities begin requesting water, Hall said the system would need to have serious discussions about if it has the flexibility to meet external demand.Hall said the Triangle's water systems all have different strengths. OWASA's water supply, she said, replenishes slower than other municipalities."It could be that we're able to supply water to Durham right now, but then later after the winter, Durham may have recovered substantially, whereas it might have taken us longer to recover. Then, we might need water from them," she said. "It's just a really beneficial partnership for everyone."Lim emphasized that Durham is taking the current water shortage very seriously. The city, he said, is doing everything possible to support residents relying on its water supply."We want them to have the water they need for their daily activities, but we certainly want them to also be mindful, limit their use to essential uses, and certainly follow the guidance and restrictions that we have in place," he said.</div></body>

Block Source: wunc.org

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

After months of unrelenting drought, the City of Durham now has less than 80 days of easily accessible water left. When including less accessible sources and emergency storage, the city has enough water for just under 150 days. Durham, like much of North Carolina, has been subject to months of...

Durham's water supply dwindles as Triangle municipalities navigate relentless drought

NewsBreak

After months of unrelenting drought, the City of Durham now has less than 80 days of easily accessible water left. When including less accessible sources a

Durham's water supply dwindles as Triangle municipalities navigate relentless drought

Comments