"Severe" Drought

[miamiblue]

What she? I only know of 2 women on this board. If you were referring to my comments, on the other hand, you need to reread this thread.

[Spatula]

If it were urbanization, we wouldn't have much to worry about would we? Since only the tiniest bit of Raleigh is actually urban.

[Raleighmark]

There was a great article in today

[Gard]

What she? I only know of 2 women on this board. If you were referring to my comments, on the other hand, you need to reread this thread.

[ncwebguy]

Here is the N&O story/sidebar referenced by Raleighmark comparing Jordan and Falls Lakes.

As for "kindergarten golden rule generalities", the "if its yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down" seems to have been more effective than the tuna can. Though the follow up "we shouldn't flush because yards needed to be kept plush" seems to be left off.

Using the cigarette analogy, if someone went from smoking a pack a day to two packs a day three times a week, they would reduce smoking by 1/7th. And they might think twice about smoking two packs in 24 hours. Though smoking isn't the same as watering the yard. By watering every other day, mother nature is given more time to provide showers. Someone watering every day would not water while it is raining. If you only water three times a day, a rainy day reduced water usage by 1/3rd vs 1/7th.

The city tried handling the drought the "Southern" way too long (please, ya'll, try to cut back). They eventually turned to "Yankee/Pulp Fiction tough guy" tactics (hey yous guys, we're in a tight situation. You lost your watering privlages. You can only water three times a week, strike that, no watering at all. Even with a rubber hose. And we might have to raise rates/rein in growth while we're add it.)

A remedial "this is how to water your yard" will result in the Eric Cartman-esque "Whatever! Screw you guys, it's my yard, I'll do what I want" IMBY-ism, the anti-Not In My Back Yard stance.

[Gard]

Article this morning in the N&O about Raleigh's water agreements. I find it awful that Raleigh has only one emergency water agreement and that it happens to be with Durham, which is in an even worse situation than we are. City council really needs to step up getting more agreements and building connections between infrasstructure of our city and those nearby.

http://www.newsobserver.com/weather/drough...ory/963087.html

[Spatula]

The more I look at the tables for Falls Lake, the more I think we should actually consider halting any expansion of the water grid. I wouldn't say a moratorium on development outright is a good idea, but instead this could be an incentive to get developers to work on the existing grid. If they want to build outside it, no water for them. That's not the kind of growth we can support at the moment.

This was a relatively typical drought. If we lose our water every few years because the city's selling water it doesn't have to future developments, perhaps that's a sign that this sprawl is not sustainable.

[ChiefJoJo]

The more I look at the tables for Falls Lake, the more I think we should actually consider halting any expansion of the water grid. I wouldn't say a moratorium on development outright is a good idea, but instead this could be an incentive to get developers to work on the existing grid. If they want to build outside it, no water for them. That's not the kind of growth we can support at the moment.

This was a relatively typical drought. If we lose our water every few years because the city's selling water it doesn't have to future developments, perhaps that's a sign that this sprawl is not sustainable.

[swimmer8866]

Bottom Line if it does not rain in large amounts soon and its as hot as last summer and as dry, kids time to take a long trip out of the area. There will be very little water on a daily basis and living in Raleigh will be well a problem.

[Jones_]

Saw that there might be some water limits aimed specifically at condos. Being on my HOA board now I cranked numbers out and we are using only 58 gallons per unit or about 33.5 gallons per person. Within Meekers range. Way below planning guidelines for pipe sizing. I assume other condo buildings fall into a similar range. A persons daily use though includes time at the office too though.

[Spatula]

According to the N&O, Falls Lake was mapped incorrectly, overestimating its depth by 5 feet in many places. They had to raise the lake a foot afterwards to compensate for water supply. This would explain why large tracts of the lake in the northern section dry up easily.

Perhaps dredging the northern section of the lake isn't such a bad idea after all.

[Spatula]

More interesting stuff:

The City of Raleigh is building a new water treatment plant at Lake Benson, and will begin utilizing Benson/Wheeler for water again. There are also long-term plans to build another reservoir in eastern Wake County by 2025. I'm very curious to see how that will work.

http://www.raleigh-nc.org/portal/server.pt...0-13422563.html

[Gard]

^^^

At the rate Wake county is growing, they better get on it if they want empty land for a new water source or development will eat it all up!

[Jones_]

According to the N&O, Falls Lake was mapped incorrectly, overestimating its depth by 5 feet in many places. They had to raise the lake a foot afterwards to compensate for water supply. This would explain why large tracts of the lake in the northern section dry up easily.

Perhaps dredging the northern section of the lake isn't such a bad idea after all.

[swimmer8866]

It really is poor management of water and poor planning. Look the watershed area for falls lake is down about 10 inches of precip over 12 months. It should not have caused this problem. It was gross neglect from the Mayor of Raleigh to the Govenor of the state of North carolina.

[dmccall]

It really is poor management of water and poor planning. Look the watershed area for falls lake is down about 10 inches of precip over 12 months. It should not have caused this problem. It was gross neglect from the Mayor of Raleigh to the Govenor of the state of North carolina.

[swimmer8866]

Where are you getting that number? Here are some of the facts:

• We are at a 7.1" deficit over the last 365.

• For 2007 we had a 17% deficit of rainfall.

• For 2006 we had a 22% surplus of rainfall.

• The lake was full in August (of 2007).

[JeffC]

two thoughts:

(1) I find it mind boggling that the two main water systems in Wake County (Cary/Apex and Raleigh/N.Wake/E.Wake) do not have a robust two way interconnection.

(2) after installing two water barrels at my house, count me in as a convert to the religion of managing/harnessing water from impervious surface runoff. If you are sending your downspouts out into the streets, you are throwing away enough water to keep your entire yard well watered through a pretty substantial dry spell. I only have one barrel actually tied in right now, and its collecting maybe 20% of my total roof area. This large barrel completely fills up from the runoff associated with a gentle rainfall lasting 45-60 minutes, which then supplies enough water for houseplants, the 25 or so new bushes I planted last fall, heck, I've even used the water for outdoor washing. My main regret now is that the model we have does not have an upper overflow tap (it only has one tap at the bottom), and thus, when the barrel fills up, I lose water I could be directing somewhere in my yard with a hose.

Because I didn't want a large rain barrel right by the carport with vehicles going in and out, I put a large 5 gallon bucket below that downspout (by disconnecting a two foot piece of downspout tubing). That bucket, receiving the roof runoff just from the carport roof (20' by 15' max) fills up in less then 5 minutes when we receive anything more substantial than a sprinkle.

As far as I'm concerned, no one should EVER again be allowed to use tap water to water trees, shrubs, flower beds, vegetable gardens, etc. (basically any application which can use drip irrigation). Underground cisterns need to become as much a part of the standard inventory of an upscale new home as an underground irrigation system is now.

[Jones_]

I calculated that my condominium building with 50% capture would fill our swimming pool with a one inch rain. For residential use a pretty small pump in each barrel and a roof cistern (supported of course) with piping to toilets would not be grieviously expensive. A valve (with backflow prevention) could switch back to potable water if the cistern ran out.

[dmccall]

Jeff,

Did your rain barrel come with any recommendations on treating the water (occasional cup of Clorox or something)? These seem like major harvest sites for bacteria. Given that it is illegal in many places to water yard plants with leftover bath water, I would be concerned about about watering garden plants with this water.

[miamiblue]

The N&O has an article about what it takes to get a car wash certified by the city under the stage 2 water restrictions. I think many citizens (myself included) had been under the impression that certified washes had to recycle at least some part of the water they used. According to this article, this is not the case, and the only requirements are that automatic washes use no more than 55(!) gal per wash and that self-serve hoses have 3 gpm nozzles on them. Abysmal!

newsobserver.com {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Rules for car washes require no recycling

The city's conservation certification program includes some requirements that are specific to car washes and others that could be applied to any business that uses city water. ALL CAR WASHES

* Spray nozzles must be replaced annually.

* Toilets must be ultra-low-flow 1.6 gallon-per-flush type.

* Hoses or faucets must be attended or shut off.

* Leaks must be repaired within 24 hours.

SELF-SERVE WASHES

* Maintain high-pressure wash nozzles that use 3 gallons per minute or less.

CONVEYOR AND IN-BAY WASHES

* Use no more than 55 gallons

[JeffC]

Jeff,

Did your rain barrel come with any recommendations on treating the water (occasional cup of Clorox or something)? These seem like major harvest sites for bacteria. Given that it is illegal in many places to water yard plants with leftover bath water, I would be concerned about about watering garden plants with this water.

[dmccall]

how could any bacteria be growing in there that isn't already present in the soils and on the vegetation?

[swimmer8866]

The N&O has an article about what it takes to get a car wash certified by the city under the stage 2 water restrictions. I think many citizens (myself included) had been under the impression that certified washes had to recycle at least some part of the water they used. According to this article, this is not the case, and the only requirements are that automatic washes use no more than 55(!) gal per wash and that self-serve hoses have 3 gpm nozzles on them. Abysmal!

newsobserver.com {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Rules for car washes require no recycling

I have to wash my car periodically because where I park there are trees with berries on them that birds like to eat, and the recycled berries end up on my paint, etching the clearcoat within a matter of a few hours. I put buckets in my shower to catch the water while it warms up and have enough to flush toilets and do a rinseless car wash within a few days. I effectively only use 1 gallon of water to wash my car!

[dmccall]

This is why I can't stand the water regulations. I wash my car fairly frequently (monthly at least) and use very little water since I use a valve at the hose end. Since restrictions, I've used do-it-yourself wand-based washes and used way way way more water.

Here's another annoyance; the verbage. The rules say nothing about using city water. Rather they ban washing vehicles, no matter the source of water..

Washing vehicles at any location is strictly prohibited,

- except as specifically approved by the Public Utilities Director for the purpose of maintaining public health and sanitary conditions of the vehicles.

- except car wash facilities certified by the City Public Utilities Director for water conservation may continue to operate. All certified vehicle wash facilities, immediately following certification shall display at the entrance of the facility the approved for water conservation placard issued by the City