Tag Archives: drought

Drought & Conservation

Understanding Charlotte’s Current Drought Conditions

The Charlotte region is currently experiencing drought conditions due to ongoing dry weather and below-average rainfall across the Catawba-Wateree River Basin.


The Catawba-Wateree River Basin is a shared water supply that supports nearly two million people across North and South Carolina. It provides drinking water, supports businesses and industry, protects environmental resources, and powers recreation throughout the region.
Because so many communities rely on the same water system, drought conditions require a coordinated regional response.

graphic of a dial showing stage 2 mandatory water restrictions are in effect


Charlotte Water works closely with regional partners, including Duke Energy and the Drought Management Advisory Group, to monitor conditions and protect the long-term reliability of our water supply. Several factors are reviewed regularly, including lake and river levels, streamflow conditions, rainfall totals, and data from the U.S. Drought Monitor.


While recent rainfall may temporarily improve conditions, drought recovery takes time. The region needs consistent rainfall over an extended period to significantly improve lake levels and restore long-term water supplies.

photo of boat on ground due to low lake levels
Taken by Cam Coley, employee City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water


Water conservation plays an important role in protecting our shared water resources during drought conditions. Reducing non-essential water use helps preserve water for essential community needs like drinking water, firefighting, healthcare, and public safety.

Customers can help by:
• Repairing leaks promptly
• Reducing outdoor water use
• Watering efficiently
• Running full loads of laundry and dishes
• Taking shorter showers
• Following current water restrictions

Charlotte Water also continues responding to leaks throughout Mecklenburg County during drought conditions. Our crews prioritize repairs based on public safety concerns, water loss, service impacts, and the severity of the leak. You can learn more about how leaks are prioritized and repaired here:
“How Charlotte Water Staff Prioritize Leaks”


Customers looking for ways to conserve water and reduce waste can also explore:
“Save Money, Save Water”
“Fixing at-home leaks”

Charlotte Water will continue monitoring conditions closely and providing updates as needed. Additional drought resources, conservation tips, and restriction information are available at charlottewater.org.


Drought response is a shared regional effort, and conservation from every customer helps protect the long-term reliability of our water supply.


Every drop counts.

Drought & Conservation, My Water

Outdoor Water Conservation: Smart Irrigation & Other Useful Tips

One sprinkler running for 10 minutes can use up to 170 gallons. Think about how many sprinkler heads you have, how long they run for and how many days/week they run? It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where you are using almost 40 ccfs (30,000 gallons) per month.

Our pricing structure is designed to encourage conservation. The more gallons you use the more a gallon costs.

Customers call requesting that we inspect the meter for inaccuracies but most of the time, it’s a leak or irrigation. That doesn’t mean that equipment problems don’t occur though so,  if you don’t think its a leak or your irrigation system causing the high bill, call 311 so Charlotte Water can investigate.

Smart Irrigation:

Smart irrigation technology uses weather data and soil moisture data to determine the irrigation needs of a landscape. These generally include the use of sensors and controllers to effectively manage your landscape irrigation.

You can incorporate smart irrigation technology with best practices below. However, you can always incorporate these ideas of efficient irrigation with a current system you already have.

  1. Seasons change, so should your system. Familiarize yourself with the settings on your irrigation controller and adjust the watering schedule regularly to conform with seasonal weather conditions.
  2. Evaporation is highest in the afternoon. Avoid irrigating between noon and 6 pm.
  3. Play “zone” defense. Schedule each individual zone in your irrigation system to account for the type of sprinkler, sun or shade exposure, and the soil type for the specific area. The same watering schedule rarely applies to all zones in the system. Make it a date.
  4. Inspect your irrigation system monthly. Check for leaks, broken or clogged heads, and other problems, or engage an irrigation professional to regularly check your system. Clean micro-irrigation filters as needed.
  5. Get your head adjusted. Correct obstructions in sprinkler heads that prevent sprinklers from distributing water evenly. Keep water off pavement and structures.

Other Outdoor Water Conservation Tips

  1. Water your lawn slowly. It is difficult to get water to soak into the soil in Charlotte. If you notice water running off the lawn or pooling, stop the sprinkler and give the soil time to absorb the water.
  2. Be mindful of how much water you are using for your lawn. Lawns only need one inch of water, including rain, a week.
  3. Consistently remove water-hogging weeds.
  4. Mulch to retain moisture. Mulch around trees, shrubs, and flowers to help the soil retain moisture and prevent weeds.
  5. Wash Fido outdoors in an area of lawn that needs to be watered. You’ll have a clean dog and a watered lawn. Be mindful of the dog shampoo you use, because the soap will soak into your lawn with the water.
  6. Plant more trees! And then more trees. Eventually you’ll have less lawn. Turfgrass is not native to Charlotte. Which means it needs water, usually more than provided by Mother Nature. Converting lawn to native trees and shrubs cuts back the need for outdoor watering substantially. And don’t forget the mulch!
  7. Leave lower branches on trees and shrubs and allow leaf litter to accumulate on the soil. This keeps the soil cooler and reduces evaporation.

Useful Links

Drought & Conservation, My Water

Will We Run Out of water?

The short answer is no, not if we continue on a sustainable path and practice conservation. But what does that actually mean? And how do we know we won’t run out.

Let’s first look into our water supply. Then we will learn how it is managed and what you can do to ensure water is around for years and years.

City of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County withdraws our drinking water from Mountain Island Lake and Lake Norman, both part of the Catawba River and the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. This river basin supports nearly 2 million people with water for drinking, power generation, industrial processes, crop and livestock production, recreation, irrigation and more. About 25% of Duke Energy’s electricity for the Carolina’s is made in the 13 hydro stations on the river basin.

geographic map of Catawba-Wateree River Basin with several locations flagged with yellow markers and black font

So where exactly is this water going, and who uses it?

diagram of CW Reservoir System Water Balance to explain where is the water going from rain, sun, usage, irrigation, thermal power.

One of the most surprising things is that Catawba-Wateree River basin loses 204 million gallons/day from natural evaporation alone. You can imagine how much has evaporated during these hot summer months.

A 2006 Water Supply Study found maximum capacity of Catawba River Basin for water supply could be reached mid-century. Thus, a group was formed in 2007 to access and figure out a way to extend the life of our river basin.

This group that consists of Duke energy, who owns and operates the dams that manage the water and the 18 munincipalities is called the Catawba-Wateree Management Group. It is a non-profit corporation working to extend and enhance the capacity of the Catawba and Wateree Rivers to meet human needs while maintaining the ecological health of the waterway. This group was tasked with creating a Water Supply Master Plan.

The master plan identifies the current challenges associated with a limited water supply especially during periods of drought. It also identifies a series of recommendations that could extend the regional water supply capacity of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin into the next century.

Key recommendations of the plan include:

  • Increased water use efficiency
  • Lowering critical water intakes/elevations (via Duke Energy’s management of the dam system)
    • Power Plant
    • Public Water Supply
  • Raise target levels during the summer months
  • Enhance the Drought responsiveness through the Low Inflow Protocol (the protocol we use to determine what drought stage we are in and what amount of conservation is needed to ensure we have enough water for essential uses).

With implementation of the Catawba-Wateree Water Supply Master plan, we should extend the river’s capacity to sustain grown through 2100.

The good news is that total average water consumption for Charlotte Water customers is decreasing .Blue bar graph depicting total average consumption from 2007 to 2015 by the CCF or thousands

This is most likely attributed to more efficient appliances, smart irrigation and behavior changes.  This along with good infrastructure, financial and business planning will ensure that we have enough water for all current and future Mecklenburg County residents.

For more informatoin about the Water Supply Master Plan visit the Catawba-Wateree Management Group website.

Drought & Conservation, My Water

Save Water While it Gets Hotter

It’s finally summer. So we thought of five more ways to conserve water this summer. Keep these in mind while you keep cool on these hot days.

  1. Chuck the melted ice from your lunch to-go cup in a desk plant or house plant. [Not the soda, the melted ice. A little bit of sweet tea will be okay]
  2. Temporarily move houseplants outside in the rain. Water from the sky is free!
  3. Do your dish washing and laundry during off-peak hours [and only when the dishwasher is full. Grab the doggie food bowls to fill up that last empty space!.
  4. Water your lawn slowly. It’s really difficult to get water to soak into soils in Charlotte. When you start to notice water running off the lawn or pooling, it’s time to stop the sprinkler and give the soil time to catch up.
  5. Plant more trees! And then more trees. Eventually you’ll have less lawn. Turfgrass is not native to Charlotte. Which means it needs water, usually more than provided by Mother Nature. Converting lawn to native trees and shrubs cuts back the need for outdoor watering substantially. And don’t forget the mulch!