Easley: Conservation Still Necessary

Gov. Mike Easley today called on all citizens, including those who rely on private wells, to continue their water conservation efforts even though last week’s rains lessened the severity of drought throughout much of North Carolina. Last week’s rainfall, which dropped up to six inches in parts of the state and only one inch in others, helped many parched wells, reservoirs and streams. The effects of the rain are shown in the latest federal drought map, which shows that the number of counties in exceptional drought, the worst level of drought, decreased from 72 counties to 22 counties.

“Even though we are seeing some improvement in the drought map since last week’s rain, every county is still in some form of drought,” said Easley. “The effect of that rainfall could likely be short-lived, as climatologists are predicting a drier-than-average winter, so we all need to continue to conserve.”

For that reason, the governor renewed his call today for all North Carolina citizens, including those on well water, to eliminate outdoor water use such as irrigation, car washing or hosing paved surfaces. He said those whose source of water is a private well should be conserving water just like people who receive water supplied by a reservoir, because all sources of water are important to sustain during the drought. The governor said that many people are under the wrong impression that people who rely on well water for everyday use are not affected by low supplies in public water systems.