In Our Cities

North Carolina’s population growth coupled with recent drought conditions has caused many public water supply systems to experience limited availability. As a result of increasing water supply demand and the limited quantity of available treatable raw water, public water supply systems are implementing water efficiency programs. These programs range from including water efficiency tips in water bills, utilizing reclaimed water, and offering toilet rebate programs, to having specialized staff available for the activate promotion and implementation of demand management and water efficiency programs. Below are links to just a few examples of North Carolina local governments’ water efficiency programs.

Cary has a water conservation program that includes a tiered rate structure, as well as incentive programs for rain barrels, high-efficiency toilets, and turf replacement. Cary also offers reclaimed water to homes and businesses for irrigation and cooling.
Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group exists to identify, fund and manage projects that help extend and enhance the capacity of the Catawba-Wateree River to meet human water needs while maintaining the ecological health of the waterway. Projects are funded by dues from voluntary members representing Duke and the large water suppliers that use storage in the 11-lake Catawba-Wateree Project system.
Chapel Hill and Carrboro and Orange County adopted year-round water use restrictions that apply in normal conditions, and additional restrictions that apply in water shortages. You can find a “Do-it yourself Water Conservation Audit” on its Web site.
Charlotte offers customers a free water conservation kit for conducting their own Home Water Use Audit (PDF).
Durham has a water efficiency program that includes public educational outreach, a tiered rate structure, water use assessments, showerhead exchanges and a high-efficiency toilet retrofit rebate.
Fayetteville has numerous water efficiency tips and how-to videos on its Web site.
Raleigh has a multifaceted approach to water conservation and efficiency. The city has adopted a tiered rate structure to encourage water conservation along with a comprehensive water shortage response plan with detailed conservation stages, in the event of drought. The city also provides an array of incentives such as:
- A water sense toilet rebate program for all water and sewer customers until funds are exhausted.
- Free water conservation kits for all customers, including two 0.5 gallons per minute (gpm) high efficiency bathroom aerators, one 1.6 gpm multifunction kitchen aerator, and one package of two toilet leak detection tablets.
- A swap-out program for showerheads and aerators.
- A water quality cost-share program, designed to help home owners harvest their rainwater while minimizing installation costs.
- Reuse water available to customers along our reuse pipeline.
Wilmington offers tips and information on how to use water efficiently both indoors and outdoors.

Please contact your local public water supply system for information on water efficiency programs, educational outreach, or if you have any questions about water use. If you're interested in finding out if there are rebates available in your area, visit the WaterSense Rebate Finder.

Water Use Rules & Restrictions
Since water is supplied and controlled at the local level, city governments or water authorities determine levels of restriction and regulation based on water supply and demand conditions, types of users and community needs and values. A link to the current list of systems and their water restriction status can be found here. The state also tracks total water consumption for municipalities.

North Carolina General Statute G.S. 143-355(l) requires all units of local government that provide or plan to provide public water service to prepare a Local Water Supply Plan and to update that plan at least every five years. In addition, all community water systems that regularly serve 1,000 or more service connections or serve more than 3,000 people are required to prepare a Local Water Supply Plan. All water systems subject to G.S. 143-355(l) are required to write an individualized water shortage response plan or implement default water use reduction measures during times of extreme or exceptional drought. If you would like to look at your community's latest water supply plan, please visit here and click on the "plans" tab.