"Still a lot of locations struggling with water, and we'll continue to because just a few days of rainfall over several weeks and months to really come out of this," Smith said.
Smith indicated that upcoming weather shifts could bring additional limited precipitation to central North Carolina.
"Happy to see the rain, and we'll continue to take whatever we can get. But we continue to seeing significant impacts from this ongoing drought," Smith said.
Municipalities Enforce Restrictions
The water crisis has led Holly Springs to join Raleigh, Durham, and Wake Forest in enacting restrictions.
Raleigh leaders granted city staff greater authority to enforce stage 2 regulations, which effectively ban lawn watering except by specific water-efficient methods, following a surge in summer water demand compared to last year.
Raleigh Water Assistant Director Ed Buchan explained that stricter triggers are necessary if the public does not reduce consumption voluntarily.
"If we start to see a downward trend in overall demand then we can leave that [trigger] at 45%," Buchan said.
In Orange County, local reservoirs managed by OWASA remain at 73% capacity, just 3% above the trigger level for its Water Shortage Response Plan.
"We're not in drought restrictions yet," Mary Tiger said.
Tiger emphasized that the utility remains highly vigilant given the regional weather patterns.
"Our water supply is doing OK. But of course we know the whole region is an exceptional drought conditions.
So we're definitely keeping an eye on things," Tiger said.
Orange County residents and agricultural businesses are experiencing severe daily operational constraints due to the heat and dry conditions.
