Durham leaders gathered at City Hall on Friday to discuss the city's water supply as neighboring Raleigh moved to impose Stage 1 restrictions on its residents starting April 20, a sign that the region's severe drought is forcing hard choices across the Triangle.
The city's two primary reservoirs are holding up unevenly. Lake Michie sits roughly one foot below full capacity, but Little River Reservoir is nearly five feet below capacity, a gap that pushed city officials to stress compliance with Durham's existing outdoor watering rules. Despite the strain, Durham estimates 161 days of available water remaining between the two reservoirs.
Durham's year-round odd-even schedule remains in effect: no watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., no outdoor watering on Mondays, odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and even-numbered addresses on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Officials have not yet announced stricter measures, but warned more rules could follow if dry conditions continue.
Falls Lake, Raleigh's main reservoir, dropped to 84% of capacity, just below the 85% April threshold that triggers Stage 1. Raleigh's new rules limit most sprinkler use to early morning hours on assigned days, require restaurants to serve water only on request, and ban watering paved surfaces. Raleigh Water Assistant Director Ed Buchan told the Herald-Sun he has "no idea" how long the restrictions will last and said, "Unless we get some miracle rain in the next couple of weeks, we're going to stay in stage one."
Lifting Raleigh's restrictions in May would require Falls Lake to recover to 95% of capacity. Long-term forecasts call for above-average rainfall in May and June, though Buchan cautioned those forecasts are not guaranteed. If conditions worsen, Raleigh's Stage 2 kicks in at 60% capacity and Stage 3 at 35%, which would effectively end irrigation, pool filling, and car washing.
For Durham, the staff-only City Hall meeting Friday was a first step. Officials have not yet set a public timeline for any new restrictions.