Hillsborough Sees Drop in Limits On Water Usage

Officials determine restriction levels based on the water level of Lake Orange.

County Engineer Paul Thames said the lake went from 9 feet below capacity Thursday to a little over 1 foot below capacity, or about 90 percent full, Tuesday.

"I'm very happy to see the rain," Thames said. "Generally this time of year if we've got a full reservoir we'll be OK."

Hillsborough uses water from both Orange Lake and a new and unfinished supplemental reservoir at the West Fork Eno River.

At full capacity, West Fork Eno reservoir, which supplements the Lake Orange supply, holds about a year's supply of water, said Eric Peterson, Hillsborough town manager.

"It's actually never been this full," he said. "We currently have about 244 days of supply."

Hillsborough operates on a different system of water shortage restrictions than Chapel Hill, Peterson said.

Chapel Hill is at a Level 1 water emergency, the third step in its restriction system.

In its system, Hillsborough had reached Stage 5, a level of shortage never before experienced in northern Orange County.

"Hillsborough actually had more days of supply left (than Chapel Hill) when we were at Stage 5," Peterson said. "We were literally days away from Stage 6."

He said that the level of this year's restrictions was exceptional but that annually Hillsborough usually requires some drought restrictions.

"It's a fairly common thing to go into restrictions during the summer dry months," Peterson said.

He said he does not foresee further restrictions this year.

"The threat is over for the immediate future," Peterson said. "It's just hard to predict nature."

He said more credit can be given to recent rainfall than conservation efforts for the increased water supply.

"The main reason was the rain," Peterson said. "But I think that the conservation efforts that our customers made helped stretch out our day's supply."

Orange County Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis also said the rain, rather than the restrictions, brought the county out of the drought.

"If we hadn't gotten over 6 inches of rain the other day I don't think we'd be reducing restrictions," he said. "We got the benefits of a hurricane-like rain without the hurricane."

Halkiotis said that he agrees with the county's decision but that residents should continue to be moderate in their water use.

"It's appropriate," Halkiotis said. "However I think we should remain vigilant or we could find ourselves right back in a situation in which we could be facing restrictions again."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.