The water supply at Falls Lake remained unchanged this week,
despite the rainfall the area received.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that the Falls
Lake Dam received 1.99 inches of rain last week, keeping the lake’s water
supply at 64%.

The lake level did drop a little lower, falling from 5.5 feet
below lake level to 5.6 feet below lake level.

Falls Lake is the primary drinking water source for Raleigh
Water, which serves more than 650,000 residents in Raleigh, Garner, Wake
Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon.

The City of Raleigh said customers used an average of 62.83
million gallons of water per day last week, down from 66.1 million gallons the
previous week. Ed Buchan, assistant director of Raleigh Water, told WRAL the
decrease in water use was due to last week’s rainfall.

The city continues to see a steady increase in reports of violations by people unaware or ignoring water use restrictions put in place to manage the ongoing drought. Raleigh received 111 reports last week,
bringing the total number of reported violations since Stage
1 restrictions started to 748.

The number of “educational letters” sent to customers
remained unchanged at 366 for the past several weeks.

Last week, WRAL
reported that the city had issued 92 official warnings for the previous week
as Raleigh stepped up enforcement of the restrictions. This week, the city
issued nine additional official warnings.

Stage 1 water restrictions in Raleigh have been in place for months, limiting irrigation and requiring residents to follow watering schedules based on their home address.  

For the first time since water restrictions began, Raleigh
issued a fine for water use. Both penalties — a first-time violation of $50 and a second violation of $200 — were to a single user. 

Here’s
what to know about Stage 1 water restrictions in Raleigh:

Automatic and non-automatic spray irrigation is allowed between midnight and 10 a.m. Homes with odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays. Homes with even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesdays. Irrigation of landscapes is recommended at a maximum of one-half inch per week. Water customers must abide by required water use reductions and efficiency measures; penalties apply for noncompliance.

For full Stage 1 water-use restrictions, visit RaleighNC.gov and search “drought.”

If someone spots a violation, the best way to report it is to email Water.Conservation@raleighnc.gov.