No more water use restrictions, for now
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on January 10, 2006 1:53 PM
Five-minute showers, dusty cars and lightly watered gardens are things of the past in Goldsboro -- at least for now.
Mayor Al King lifted voluntary conservation of water for the city Monday at the first City Council meeting of 2006, more than three months after urging residents to monitor and limit their water usage.
"For such a long time this summer, it looked bleak," King said. "But our citizens did a good job conserving, so we didn't have to go into mandatory conservation."
King's decision came as recent rains replenished the water supply in the Neuse River, pushing levels at the intake over the 52-foot-at-Mean-Sea-Level trigger, which marks conditions consistent with a need for conservation.
"The levels are back to where they need to be and people can see that," King said. "So we'll be lifting voluntary conservation but asking that citizens continue to be responsible."
On Oct. 3, King declared voluntary conservation of water for the city as an unusually dry autumn led to "dangerously low" readings from the Neuse River intake.
Wayne County received just a little more than 3 inches of rain in September, according to statistics kept by officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. The average rainfall for the county in September is more than 5 inches.
King said residents should not use the recent change in conditions to justify excessive water use, but remain relatively conservative to help avoid similar problems next year.
"We would ask, though, that you understand water is a premium in eastern North Carolina," he said. "Don't go back to our wasteful ways. Water is precious."