(A) Moderate drought phase. Upon notification by the Drought Response Committee and/or Charleston CPW that a moderate drought condition is present and is expected to persist, and/or upon determination by the town that a moderate water supply shortage exists based on trigger levels, the town will seek voluntary reductions from its customers in the use of water for all purposes and voluntary reductions on using water during certain peak water demand periods. Specifically, the goal during this phase is to achieve a reduction of 20% in residential water use and 15% in other water uses such as commercial, industrial, institutional and irrigation; with an overall reduction of >15% water use. To accomplish this, the town will take the following actions:
(1) Issue a proclamation to be released to local media, the town’s customers and to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center that moderate drought conditions are present;
(2) Provide written notification to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center and routinely publish in The Charleston Post & Courier and the Moultrie News the voluntary conservation measures that the customers are requested to follow during moderate drought conditions, including:
(a) Reduce residential water use to 65 gallons per person per day or a maximum of 200 gallons per household per day, whichever is less;
(b) Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts and other hard surfaced areas;
(c) Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than immediate fire protection;
(d) Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
(e) Eliminate the domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars and the like;
(f) Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection ponds and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except where necessary to support aquatic life;
(g) Reduce watering of lawns, plants, trees, gardens, shrubbery and flora on private or public property to the minimum necessary. Encourage outdoor watering to be done during off-peak hours;
(h) Reduce the amount of water obtained from fire hydrants for construction purposes, fire drills or for any purpose other than firefighting or flushing necessary to maintain water quality; and
(i) Limit normal water use by commercial and individual customers including, but not limited to, the following:
1. Stop serving water in addition to another beverage routinely in restaurants;
2. Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support aquatic life; and
3. Cease water service to customers who have been given a ten-day notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so.
(3) Intensify maintenance efforts to identify and correct water leaks in the distribution system;
(4) Cease to install new irrigation taps on the water system; and
(5) Continue to encourage and educate customers to comply with voluntary water conservation.
(B) Severe drought phase. Upon notification by the Drought Response Committee and/or Charleston CPW that a severe drought condition is present and is expected to persist and/or upon determination by the town that a severe water supply shortage exists based on trigger levels, the town will seek voluntary reduction in the use of water for all purposes and mandatory restrictions on nonessential usage and restrictions on times when certain water usage is allowed. Specifically, the goal during this phase is to achieve a reduction of 25% in residential water use, 20% in all other water use categories and a reduction in overall water use of >20%. To accomplish these goals, the town will take the following actions:
(1) Issue a proclamation to be released to the local media, the town’s customers and to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center that severe drought conditions are present;
(2) Provide written notification to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center and routinely publish in The Charleston Post & Courier and the Moultrie News the voluntary conservation measures and mandatory restrictions to be placed on the use of water supplied by the utility, including:
(a) Voluntary reduction of residential water use by the utility’s customers to 55 gallons per person per day or a maximum of 170 gallons per household or REU per day, whichever is less;
(b) Control landscape irrigation by the utility’s customers by staggering watering times;
(c) Mandatory restrictions on the use of water supplied by the utility for activities including:
1. Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts and other hard surfaced areas;
2. Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than immediate fire protection;
3. Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
4. Eliminate domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars and the like;
5. Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection ponds and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except where necessary to support aquatic life;
6. Eliminate filling or maintaining public or private swimming pools; and
7. Eliminate obtaining water from fire hydrants for construction purposes, fire drills or any purpose other than firefighting or flushing necessary to maintain water quality.
(d) Limit use of water by commercial and individual customers including, but not limited to, the following:
1. Serve water only upon request in addition to another beverage routinely in restaurants;
2. Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support aquatic life;
3. Limit irrigating golf courses and any portion of its grounds to existing surface water supplies;
4. Cease water service to customers, where appropriate, who have been given a ten-day notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so; and
5. Limit expanding commercial nursery facilities, placing new irrigated agricultural land in production or planting or landscaping when required by site design review process.
(3) Intensify maintenance efforts to identify and correct water leaks in the distribution system;
(4) Continue to cease installation of new irrigation taps on the water system;
(5) Publicize widely the penalties to be imposed for violations of mandatory restrictions and the procedures to be followed if a variance in the restrictions is requested;
(6) Expand the use of education and public relations efforts and emphasize the penalties associated with violating the mandatory restrictions; and
(7) Provide written notification monthly to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center regarding the success of the voluntary and mandatory restrictions.
(C) Extreme drought phase. Upon notification by the Drought Response Committee and/or Charleston CPW that an extreme drought condition is present and is expected to persist, and/or upon determination by the town that an extreme water supply shortage exists based on the trigger levels, the town will impose mandatory restrictions in the use of water for all purposes and on the times when certain water usage is allowed. Specifically, the goal during this phase is to achieve a reduction of 30% in residential water use, 25% in all other categories of water uses and a reduction in overall water use of >25%. To accomplish these goals, the town will take the following actions:
(1) Issue a proclamation to be released to the local media, the town’s customers and to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center that extreme drought conditions are present;
(2) Provide written notification to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center and routinely publish in The Charleston Post & Courier and the Moultrie News the mandatory restrictions to be placed on the use of water supplied by the utility, including:
(a) Limiting residential water use to 45 gallons per person per day or a maximum of 150 gallons per household or REU per day, whichever is less;
(b) Eliminate landscape irrigation by the utility’s customers;
(c) Mandatory restrictions on the use of water supplied by the utility for activities including:
1. Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts and other hard surfaced areas;
2. Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than immediate fire protection;
3. Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
4. No domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars and the like;
5. Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection ponds, and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except where necessary to support aquatic life;
6. Eliminate filling or maintaining public or private swimming pools; and
7. Eliminate obtaining water from fire hydrants for construction purposes, fire drills or any purpose other than firefighting or flushing necessary to maintain water quality.
(d) Limit normal water use by commercial and individual customers including, but not limited to, the following:
1. Stop serving tap water in addition to another beverage routinely in restaurants;
2. Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support fish and wildlife;
3. Limit irrigating golf courses and any portion of their grounds to existing surface water sources;
4. Cease water service to customers who have been given a ten-day notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so; and
5. Limit expanding commercial nursery facilities, placing new irrigated agricultural land in production, or planting or landscaping when required by site design review process.
(3) Intensify maintenance efforts to identify and correct water leaks in the distribution system;
(4) Continue to cease installation of new irrigation taps on the water system;
(6) Expand the use of education and public relations efforts as conducted under the moderate and severe drought phase and emphasize the penalties associated with violating the mandatory restrictions; and
(7) Provide written notification monthly to the state’s Department of Natural Resources Drought Information Center regarding the success of the mandatory restrictions.
(Prior Code, § 20-14.3) (Ord. passed 10-21-2003)