“Very dry conditions” prompt water restriction warning in Iredell County

The continued lack of rainfall in the Charlotte area prompted an Iredell County utility company on Wednesday to ask its customers to limit their non-essential water use.

“The goal is to protect water supplies now in case drought conditions worsen,” Iredell Water Corp. said in a statement.

The member-owned, nonprofit utility provides public drinking water in 12 of the county’s 16 communities outside the Mooresville and Statesville service areas.

“The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has classified Iredell County as a moderate drought area, and statewide drought intensity is considered either abnormally dry, moderately dry or severe,” the statement said.

Rain forecast “does not look good”

The DEQ classifies Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Gaston and Lincoln counties as abnormally dry, the lowest of five drought intensity levels on the U.S. Drought Monitor map. Moderate drought is the second lowest level on the map.

There has been little rain in the last six weeks, Iredell Water Corp. officials said. Combined with temperatures above 30 degrees in recent weeks, this has led to “very dry conditions in our area,” the company said in a statement, “and the prospects for rain in the near future are not good.”

Customers are asked to limit non-essential water use, such as washing cars at home and watering lawns and gardens.

Ways to save water

Officials recommend not leaving the tap running while shaving or washing dishes and limiting flushing the toilet and using the washing machine and dishwasher.

Limit showers to 4 minutes and reduce the operating hours of water-cooled air conditioners.

Iredell Water asks customers with irrigation systems to adhere to the following schedule:

Addresses with odd house numbers: Tuesday 8:00 p.m. to Wednesday 8:00 a.m. and Saturday 8:00 p.m. to Sunday 8:00 a.m.

Streets with even house numbers and addresses without house numbers: Thursday 8 p.m. to Friday 8 a.m. and Sunday 8 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m.

According to Iredell Water, residents, businesses and institutions should temporarily postpone new landscaping work until the water shortage is resolved.