News 14's Heather Moore is taking a look at water levels and restrictions across the state.
NORTH CAROLINA -- As North Carolina's drought continues to worsen, more and more cities are tightening the taps with water restrictions. But some are asking if local governments are doing enough to protect our water, and are they doing it fast enough?
As the sun continues to shine on North Carolina, lake levels continue to drop. Mountain Island Lake in Mecklenburg County, Lake Mackintosh in the Triad, and Falls Lake and Lake Michie in the Triangle; are all below normal, prompting different stages of water restrictions. Many cities have enacted conservation measures, ranging from limited lawn watering to no watering at all.
David Moreau, the director of the Water Resources Research Institute, says predicting water levels, rainfall, and customer demand is a tricky science.
“You can make two types of mistakes,” he explained. “You can make a mistake of calling for conservation, when there's no need for it. On the other hand, you can make a mistake of not calling for it early enough. Most of that is learned in hindsight because you're playing a very uncertain game with nature.”
Lake levels across the state are down.
Moreau believes there is more city leaders can do, besides just enacting water restrictions, to keep the public informed during a drought.
“We need realistic predictions of what our risk of running out of water is,” he said. “Generally speaking, if you're in November and you've got 100 days of water left, you're in pretty good shape because historically, we've always gotten considerable relief in January and February.”
Moreau says until we get some relieving rain, state leaders should plan for the worst case scenario and prepare the public for even more drastic water restrictions, just in case.