Special to IFN
Iredell Water Corp. is asking its customers to voluntarily reduce water usage due to the lack of significant rainfall during the past six weeks and the extreme heat in the past few weeks.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has designated Iredell County as an area of moderate drought, and the entire state is either designated as having abnormally dry, moderate drought, or severe drought intensity levels.
Due to these conditions, along with near-record prolonged water usage in recent weeks, Iredell Water has moved into a Stage One voluntary water shortage condition and is encouraging its customers to reduce their non-essential uses, effecttive immediately.
The goal of voluntary conservation efforts is to protect the water supply in case the drought conditions do not ease or get even worse.
How to Conserve Water
Iredell Water is asking our customers to cut water use by taking the following steps:
♦ Repair all known leaks.
♦ Limit at-home car washing to the minimum.
♦ Limit lawn and garden watering to that which is necessary for plants to survive.
♦ Do not wash down outside areas such as sidewalks, patios, parking lots, service bays or aprons, etc.
♦ Do not leave faucets running while shaving or rinsing dishes.
♦ Water shrubbery to the minimum required, reusing household water when possible.
♦ Limit use of clothes washers and dish washers and when used, operate when fully loaded.
♦ Use of showers for bathing, rather than bathtub, and limit showers to no more than four minutes.
♦ Limit flushing of toilets.
♦ Use disposable and biodegradable dishes, if possible.
♦ Using flow-restrictive and water-saving devices.
♦ Limit hours of operation of water-cooled air conditioners.
♦ Use only hoses with spring-activated nozzles when watering lawns and gardens.
Irrigation Schedule
Iredell Water is asking customers with irrigation systems to use the following schedule:
Odd-numbered street addresses:
♦ Tuesday 8 p.m. to Wednesday 8 a.m.
♦ Saturday 8 p.m. to Sunday 8 a.m.
Even-numbered street addresses and unnumbered addresses:
♦ Thursday 8 p.m. to Friday 8 a.m.
♦ Sunday 8 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m.
Iredell Water is also asking residents, businesses, and institutions to temporarily delay new landscape work until the water shortage has ended.