According to the Raleigh News and Observer, the city of Durham will be one of the first cities to face a serious water shortage if the drought doesn’t break. As of the end of November, the city has only 58 days of water left in its reservoirs. Click here to read the story.

Water Efficiency Actions

North Carolina is in the midst of what’s likely the worst drought in modern history. Cities and counties around the state are scrambling to figure out how to provide their residents with clean water if the drought doesn’t break in the next several months. And with North Carolina expected to add close to three million people in the next 20 years, we cannot afford to continue wasting water. In every sector of the economy - commercial, agricultural, industrial, and residential - we use more water than we need.

That’s why NCPIRG has launched the water efficiency project.

As a state, we can take proactive steps now to ensure that we mitigate the worst effects of the drought and that we’ve got sufficient water resources as our state continues to grow. To do this, we need to make sure that all water users implement efficiency and conservation measures.

Specifically, NCPIRG is working to enact the following policies:

1. Mandatory efficiency standards should be set for all new industrial and commercial facilities and appliances;

2. Tax incentives for commercial and industrial facilities that implement efficiency measures on existing buildings and facilities;

3. Mandatory efficiency standards for all new state government buildings;

4. Restrictions on state grants to local governments that fail to significantly decrease water consumption;

5. A rate structure that encourages consumers to conserve water. Specifically, people who use excessive amounts of water should pay more for every gallon they use.