The City of Greensboro isn’t rationing water.

At least not yet.

 However,  the ongoing drought has gotten serious enough that city leaders are taking the first formal step under the city’s Water Shortage Response Plan – and residents are being asked to start conserving water.

Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 14, Greensboro will enact Stage I voluntary water conservation measures in response to the unusually dry weather and declining water levels in the city’s reservoirs.

The announcement, made Tuesday, Oct. 13, comes as Guilford County remains among nine North Carolina counties classified as experiencing extreme drought.

Although recent rainfall has helped slightly, it hasn’t been nearly enough to make up for the prolonged lack of precipitation and unusually high temperatures that have affected the entire region.

And the city’s water supply lakes are showing the effects: According to the city’s recent water-level reports, Lake Townsend is now approximately six feet below its full reference level, while Lake Brandt is nearly two feet below full.

Those figures are particularly concerning since Greensboro depends on three reservoirs – Lake Townsend, Lake Brandt and Lake Higgins – for its drinking water.

Together, the three lakes hold about 8 billion gallons when full.

Greensboro’s water system supplies roughly 320,000 customers and typically delivers about 36 million gallons of treated water per day.

The city has already been purchasing water from neighboring communities, including Burlington and Reidsville, as well as the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority, in an effort to maintain adequate supplies.

Howevewr, declining water reserves have now triggered the first stage of Greensboro’s formal water shortage plan.

Under Stage I, residents and businesses are being asked to voluntarily reduce their water consumption. There are no new mandatory conservation requirements or penalties for failing to follow the Stage I recommendations.

Among other things, the city is asking residents to limit showers to five minutes, repair leaking faucets and toilets, run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads and avoid leaving faucets running while brushing their teeth or shaving.

Residents are also being asked to water lawns and shrubbery only as necessary to keep plants alive, limit washing vehicles and refrain from washing driveways, sidewalks and patios.

The city is also recommending that residents avoid filling swimming and wading pools.

While those measures are voluntary, Greensboro’s Water Shortage Response Plan, adopted in 2023, makes it clear that considerably tougher restrictions could follow if water supplies continue to decline.

Stage II of the plan introduces mandatory restrictions on outdoor watering. Most customers would be allowed to use sprinklers only once a week, generally on the same day as their city garbage collection. Watering with hand-held hoses, containers or drip irrigation systems would still be permitted under specified conditions.

Golf courses and athletic fields with separate water meters would also face mandatory reductions in water consumption.

And unlike the current voluntary measures, violations of Stage II restrictions could carry financial penalties.

Under the plan, residential customers would receive a warning for a first violation, a $100 fine for a second violation and a $200 fine for a third or subsequent violation.

Stage III restrictions would be even more stringent, generally prohibiting vehicle washing except for certain commercial and safety-related purposes. Restaurants would also be prohibited from serving drinking water unless customers specifically requested it.

The city’s plan actually provides for six stages of water shortage response, with the later stages including severe restrictions and water rationing measures.

Greensboro hasn’t indicated that those more serious restrictions are imminent.

However, the plan requires the city’s Water Resources Director to review reservoir storage levels at least every seven days once a water shortage stage has been declared.

The plan also calls for a declared stage to remain in effect for at least 30 days, although the city can move to more restrictive measures sooner if conditions warrant.

The city’s announcement comes against the backdrop of a prolonged drought that has affected much of North Carolina. According to the Oct. 8 U.S. Drought Monitor, most counties in the state are experiencing conditions ranging from abnormally dry to extreme drought.

For Greensboro, the concern is compounded by geography. The city is located near the top of the Cape Fear River watershed and relies heavily on water stored in its reservoirs, leaving its water supply particularly vulnerable during extended periods without adequate rainfall.

If the drought continues and water supplies fall dramatically, the restrictions could become much more severe. Under Stage V, the city would declare a water supply emergency and generally prohibit outdoor water use, with only limited exceptions. The sixth and harshest stage would call for residential customers to reduce water consumption by at least 40 percent and require most businesses to cut usage by 50 percent. Restaurants would be required to use disposable plates, cups and utensils, washing cars would be prohibited except for certain health and safety reasons and filling swimming pools would be banned. The city could also impose charges of 10 times the normal water rate for usage exceeding established allotments. Greensboro is nowhere near announcing such drastic measures at this point in time, but the city’s plan makes clear just how serious a prolonged water shortage could become.

For now, city officials are hoping voluntary conservation, continued water purchases from neighboring systems and eventually more substantial rainfall will help preserve the city’s water supply.

Residents can find additional conservation recommendations through the city’s GSO WaterWise customer portal at greensboro-nc.gov/ConserveWater.

Current reservoir levels and water demand figures are available on the city’s Water Status Update page.

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