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The Triangle area is a little over 10" below the average rainfall for 2007/2008. Given that a lot of "normal" rainfall would be runoff or sent downstream, how much actual rain would we need to offically get out of the drought? I would assume that we don't actually need it all, but just enough to fill the lakes back up.
Also, given that Cary's water supply (Jordan Lake) is already 1 foot over full, do you think they might actually let us water our lawns and plants this year, assuming that we get some rainfall?
The Triangle area is a little over 10" below the average rainfall for 2007/2008. Given that a lot of "normal" rainfall would be runoff or sent downstream, how much actual rain would we need to offically get out of the drought? I would assume that we don't actually need it all, but just enough to fill the lakes back up.
Also, given that Cary's water supply (Jordan Lake) is already 1 foot over full, do you think they might actually let us water our lawns and plants this year, assuming that we get some rainfall?
I believe most of the reports I have read indicate we need about 2 feet of actual rain between now and May to get Falls Lake up to it's "normal Level"
That 2' of rain over the entire surface of the falls lake watershed should result in enough water draining into the lake itself to raise the lake level about 10'.
Here's an article from today that touches on this subject. Drought Hits Falls Harder Than Other Lakes :: WRAL.com
The article mentions why it takes longer for Falls Lake to fill up compared to other water sources in the area. It also mentions that Raleigh's water needs are 4 times larger than Cary's water needs.
Based simply on the governor's standpoint on the drought, I doubt that Cary will allow normal outdoor watering as long as surrounding communities are still under strict water restrictions.
I think the problem is water is released from falls lake to keep the neuse going otherwise it would go dry downstream. So we are constantly losing water and that is compounded by a drought. Too bad hurricane season is June 1st we usually don't get anything til the Late summer/early fall. All we need is a tropical depression to just sit over us. Luckily thouse just have 35mph winds or less.
The water released from Falls is just a small part of the problem and they are actually trying to halve that. The far bigger issue is the size of the watershed. It is just a poor choice for a major city to be using.
We average between about 3" and 4.5" of rain each month (lowest is 2.98" in April, highest is 4.46" in March). A lot of what drives the averages in those peak Hurricane season months is the "all at once" storm. We don't get a ton of normal rain. So not having a TS/Hurricane one year really makes those months dry.
Normally when we face a drought and low lake levels, it is because we didn't get a big TS come through that year. But the other months are close enough to normal that we cope rather well. Or sometimes we'll see a drought because of lack of rain during the other months, but then a TS bails us out. This year we've gotten the double whammy of below normal rains for months on end AND no tropical storms.
I think Raleigh is going to be hurting for quite some time because of how long it will take Falls to refill. Hard to believe they haven't told Pepsi to suspend bottling until they are to a safe level. Also hard to believe that the price of something isn't skyrocketing when it becomes scarce.
things to avoid to help gain water... just a thought
a.k.a - remove pepsi from the raleigh water issue by avoiding all of the following, not just Aquifina:
Frito-Lay snacks, Quaker Foods, the rest of Pepsi-Cola beverages:
Dole Single Serve Juices
Gatorade
Lipton Iced Tea
Mirinda
Milk Chillers
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew Code Red
AMP Energy by Mountain Dew
MDX by Mountain Dew
Mug Root Beer
Mug Cream Soda
Propel
Sierra Mist
SoBe
Starbucks Canned & Bottled
Tropicana Juice and Sodas
... and Jeff Gordon
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things to avoid to help gain water... just a thought
