Contact: Allan Williams
Phone: (336) 373-2050

Voluntary Water Use Reductions Requested

GREENSBORO -- The City of Greensboro is asking customers to voluntarily reduce water consumption as provided in Chapter 29.5-6.  While this request is for voluntary compliance, all residents and businesses are encouraged to participate in order to help avoid mandatory restrictions should current dry weather patterns continue.

Rainfall recorded for Greensboro is five inches less than normal for this date. While reservoirs do not appear exceptionally low, it is only early July and both rainfall and streamflows into the City’s reservoirs are well below normal. 

Allan Williams, director of Water Resources, said, “Currently our reservoir levels are considerably better than at this time in 2002 when Greensboro experienced its most difficult water supply management problem since the 1950s. Current inventory of water is 6.7 billion gallons (85% full) vs. 4.6 billion gallons on this date in 2002 (58 percent full). Long-term weather forecasts do predict normal rainfall; however, forecasts for the next week or two do not show substantial likelihood of rain.  Given these conditions, Greensboro feels it is prudent to request these voluntary restrictions, as have many other water suppliers in the region (some of whom are on mandatory restrictions)."

Greensboro’s Emergency Restriction Plan provides for mandatory restrictions when the water supply drops to 150 days. Conditions currently provide an estimate of 190 days of supply. Over the last several weeks, purchase of supplemental water from Reidsville, Burlington, and Winston-Salem has been increased to reduce the demand on the city’s lake reserves. Of the overall average demand for finished water, approximately 40 million gallons per day, about 8 million gallons per day, or 20 percent, is from these outside sources.

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