Additional Charlotte Water restrictions may come on Friday

CHARLOTTE — If additional water restrictions are coming to Charlotte, they will be announced on Friday.

Charlotte Water is part of the Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group and follows the Low Inflow Protocol (LIP). LIP stages are updated the 1st and 16th of the month.

If the LIP changes on Friday to move to Stage 2 LIC, here’s what that could mean for Charlotte Water customers:

• Mandatory water use restrictions
• Limiting lawn and landscape irrigation to no more than two days per week (e.g., residential, multi-family, parks, streetscapes, schools)
• Eliminating residential vehicle washing.
• Limiting public building, sidewalk, and street washing activities except as required for safety and/or to maintain regulatory compliance

Restrictions would be enforced by penalties, likely warnings and fines.

The goal is to reduce water usage by 5-10% or more from the amount that would otherwise be expected.

Stage 2 LIC will be declared if:

• On the first or sixteenth day of the month (or first business day thereafter), the Storage Index (SI) is at or below 75% of the Target Storage Index (TSI), but greater than 57% of the TSI, while providing the Stage 1 Minimum Project Flows and either of the following conditions exists:
• The U.S. Drought Monitor Three-Month Numeric Average has a value greater than or equal to 2.
• The sum of the actual rolling six-month average streamflows at the Monitored USGS Streamflow Gages is equal to or less than 65% of the sum of the period of record rolling average streamflows for the same six-month period.

Charlotte Water is currently in Stage 1 LIC. The restrictions at this moment are voluntary and include:

• Limit outdoor watering to no more than two days per week
• odd-numbered addresses: Tuesday and Saturday
• even-numbered addresses: Wednesday and Sunday
• Avoid watering lawns during the peak heat of the day
• Limit watering to one inch per week, including rainfall
• Avoid washing hard surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks, and streets
• Use commercial car washes that recycle water, or minimize vehicle washing at home
• Repair leaks promptly in irrigation systems, outdoor spigots, and indoor plumbing

This is the first time voluntary water restrictions have been in place in Charlotte since 2023.

©2026 Cox Media Group