The procedures in this section are written to reduce potable water demand and supplement existing drinking water supplies whenever existing water supply sources are inadequate to meet current demands for potable water.
(A) Authorization. The Town Manager shall enact the following water shortage response provisions whenever the trigger conditions outlined in division (D) are met. In his or her absence, the Utility Director will assume this role.
(B) Notification. The following notification methods will be used to inform water system employees and customers of a water shortage declaration: employee e-mail announcements, notices at municipal buildings, notices in water bills and on the town website homepage. Required water shortage response measures will be communicated through Dunn Daily Record, other means of public service announcement and on the town website. Declaration of emergency water restrictions or water rationing will be communicated to all customers by telephone through use of reverse 911. Contact Harnett County Fire Marshal between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at (910) 893-7580. After 5:00 p.m. and weekends, call 911 and ask for the On-Call Fire Marshal.
(C) Levels of response.
(1) Five levels of water shortage response are outlined in the table below. The five levels of water shortage response are: voluntary reductions, mandatory reductions I and II, emergency reductions and water rationing. A detailed description of each response level and corresponding water reduction measures follow below.
Stage | Response | Description |
1 | Voluntary reductions | Water users are encouraged to reduce their water use and improve water use efficiency; however, no penalties apply for noncompliance. Water supply conditions indicate a potential for shortage (see below). |
2 | Mandatory reductions I | Water users must abide required water use reduction and efficiency measures; penalties apply for noncompliance. Water supply conditions are significantly lower than the seasonal norm and water shortage conditions are expected to persist (see below). |
3 | Mandatory reductions II | Same as in Stage 2 description plus (see below). |
4 | Emergency reductions | Water supply conditions are substantially diminished and pose an imminent threat to human health or environmental integrity (see below). |
5 | Water rationing | Water supply conditions are substantially diminished and remaining supplies must be allocated to preserve human health and environmental integrity (see below). |
(2) In stage 1, voluntary reductions, all water users will be asked to reduce their normal water use by 5%. Customer education and outreach programs will encourage water conservation and efficiency measures including: irrigating landscapes a maximum of one inch per week; preventing water waste, runoff and watering impervious surfaces; watering plants deeply to encourage root growth; washing only full loads in clothes and dishwashers; using spring-loaded nozzles on garden hoses; and identifying and repairing all water leaks.
(3) In stage 2, mandatory reductions I, all customers are expected to reduce their water use by 10% in comparison to their previous month’s water bill. In addition to continuing to encourage all voluntary reduction actions, the following restrictions apply: irrigation is limited to a half inch per week between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.; outdoor use drinking water for washing impervious surfaces is prohibited; and all testing and training purposes requiring drinking water (such as, fire protection) will be limited.
(4) In stage 3, mandatory reductions II, customers must continue actions from all previous stages and further reduce water use by 20% compared to their previous month’s water bill. All nonessential uses of drinking water are banned and garden and landscape irrigation must be reduced to the minimum amount necessary for survival. Additionally, in stage 3, a drought surcharge of 1.5 times the normal water rate applies.
(5) In stage 4, emergency reductions, customers must continue all actions from previous stages and further reduce their water use by 25% compared to their previous month’s water bill. A ban on all use of drinking water except to protect public health and safety is implemented and drought surcharges increase to two times the normal water rate.
(6) The goal of stage 5, water rationing, is to provide drinking water to protect public health (such as, residences, residential health care facilities and correctional facilities). In stage 5, all customers are only permitted to use water at the minimum required for public health protection. Firefighting is the only allowable outdoor water use and pickup locations for distributing potable water will be announced according to Town Emergency Response Plan. Drought surcharges increase to five times the normal water rate.
(D) Triggers. The town purchases the water from the County Public Utilities. The town will follow the counties’ protocols for their water shortage and water rationing responses, the town will also stay in close contact with all county agencies. This plan will enact the town to mandate their own water restrictions due to nature and man-made disasters. Examples include: main water line breaks, loss of system pressure, hurricanes, tornadoes and the like.
(E) Return to normal. When water shortage conditions have abated and the situation is returning to normal, water conservation measures employed during each phase should be decreased in reverse order of implementation. Permanent measures directed toward long-term monitoring and conservations should be implemented or continued so that the community will be in a better position to prevent shortages and respond to recurring water shortage conditions.
(F) Enforcement. The provisions of the water shortage response plan will be enforced by town utility department and police personnel. Violators will be reported to the town for record keeping and enforcement actions. Citations are assessed according to the following schedule depending on the number of prior violations and current level of water shortage.
Water Shortage Level | First Violation | Second Violation | Third Violation |
Voluntary Reductions | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Mandatory reductions (stages 2 and 3) | Warning | $250 | Discontinuation of service |
Emergency Reductions | $250 | Discontinuation of service | Discontinuation of service |
Water rationing | $500 | Discontinuation of service | Discontinuation of service |
Drought surcharge rates are effective in Stages 3, 4 and 5 | |||
(G) Public comment. Customers will have multiple opportunities to comment on the provisions of the water shortage response plan. First, a notice will be published in The Daily Record informing citizens of the draft plan, a draft plan will be available at the Town Hall Administration Building and on the town website allowing citizens to comment on the draft. Second, a public hearing will be scheduled with notice printed in The Daily Record. All subsequent revisions to the draft plan will be published at least 30 days prior to an adoption vote by Town Council.
(H) Variance protocols. Applications for water use variance requests are available from the town website and town hall. All applications must be submitted to the town hall for review. A decision to approve or deny individual variance requests will be determined within two weeks of submittal after careful consideration of the following criteria: impact on water demand, expected duration, alternative source options, social and economic importance, purpose (such as, necessary use of drinking water) and the prevention of structural damage.
(I) Effectiveness. The effectiveness of the water shortage response plan will be determined by comparing the stated water conservation goals with observed water use reduction data. Other factors to be considered include frequency of plan activation, any problem periods without activation, total number of violation citations, desired reductions attained and evaluation of demand reductions compared to the previous year’s seasonal data.
(J) Revision. The water shortage response plan will be reviewed and revised as needed to adapt to new circumstances affecting water supply and demand, following implementation of emergency restrictions, and at a minimum of every five years in conjunction with the updating of our Local Water Supply Plan. Further, a water shortage response planning work group will review procedures following each emergency or rationing stage to recommend any necessary improvements to the plan to Town Council. The Utility Director is responsible for initiating all subsequent revisions.
(Ord. 2013-08, passed 2-12-2013)