Municipalities throughout the Catawba Valley-Unifour in cooperation with other major water suppliers along the Catawba River, and Duke Energy participate in a joint management effort to properly manage the water resources available within the Catawba River Basin. For more than 20 years, this partnership has overseen the development and implementation of the Low Inflow Protocol (LIP), a shared framework used to guide water management decisions during periods of drought or low water availability.
Due to ongoing dry conditions, The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group (CW-DMAG) has declared the Catawba-Wateree River Basin in Stage 1 of the group’s Low Inflow Protocol (LIP). This declaration is based on lower lake storage levels, declining streamflows, and current drought conditions resulting from this year’s lack of rainfall. Warmer temperatures have further contributed to water loss through increased evaporation.
Under Stage 1, water users are asked to reduce their normal water use by five percent (5%). To conserve water, customers can irrigate landscapes a maximum of one inch per week, wash only full loads in clothes and dishwashers, use spring-loaded nozzles on garden hoses, and identify and repair water leaks.
The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group closely monitors basin conditions and reviews lake levels, streamflow, drought conditions, and groundwater levels each month during drought periods. On April 16, these indicators met the criteria for a Stage 1 LIP declaration.
If the drought continues, DMAG partners will institute mandatory restrictions of five percent conservation.
For questions, customers are encouraged to contact their local water provider. Additional conservation tips are available from the Catawba-Wat eree Water Management Group at www.catawbawatereewmg.org.