Easley, Michael. Press Release, 2007-11-30, Gov. Easley Announces Website So Citizens Can Monitor Water Savings: Local Officials Must Continue Water Conservation Measures As Drought Worsens

Michael F. Easley Governor State of North Carolina Office of the Governor Contact: Renee Hoffman Phone: 919/733-5612 GOV. EASLEY ANNOUNCES WEBSITE SO CITIZENS CAN MONITOR WATER SAVINGS Local Officials Must Continue Water Conservation Measures As Drought Worsens RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley today announced that citizens can monitor water conservation efforts in their communities through a new website that allows users to search a statewide database of local water systems and weekly water use reports. This easy-to-use website provides both information on total water use in local systems as well as the percentage change in water consumption. “With this new information we know we have to get back to the 30 to 35 percent savings rates, at least through the holidays and the end of the year,” Easley said. “This is still a serious matter and I know we can do it. We will take a look at where our conservation efforts stand at the end of the year and what steps we need to take.” In October, the governor asked North Carolinians to try to cut their water use by as much as 50 percent. He also asked each of the state’s public water systems to increase reporting to the state by recording the amount of water used daily and entering that date on a weekly basis. The information is entered on the state Division of Water Resources website and is now available in a searchable fonn at www.ncwater.org/Drought_Monitoring/reduction/weeklyreport.php. Water consumption rates reported by 20 of the state’s 25 largest public water systems, for the week of Nov. 19, show average daily consumption dropping by nearly 18 percent when compared to average daily consumption for this October. Citizens can search the data by the name of their community’s public water system, by county, or by river basin. They can compare information from the week of Oct. 22, 2007 to the present. Where local systems have entered the data, web users can click on the name of the town or water system and get a graph showing daily water use by “gallons per day.” This week's federal drought map shows every county in the state is at one of the three most severe levels of drought: 62 counties, up from 56 counties last week, are suffering an “exceptional drought,” the worst level of the four-category system. The number of counties in “extreme drought” increased to 23 from 22 and the number of counties in severe drought is at 15. Meanwhile, 5.36 million North Carolinians, or 79 percent of the people in water systems tracked by the state, are subject to water use restrictions. In addition to encouraging conservation, water systems are For Release: IMMEDIATE Date: November 30, 2007 Governor's Press Office State Capitol, Raleigh, NC 27603-8001 (919) 733-5612 - Toll Free 1-800-662-7005 FAX (919) 733-5166