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.
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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.