Mooresville residents are about to get a lot more familiar with their hose nozzles. Starting Friday, May 8, anyone on the town water system will have to follow mandatory water use rules as a deepening regional drought tightens supplies. Lawn sprinklers are getting the strictest curfew, and ignoring the rules could cost you real money or even your water service.
Sprinkler irrigation will only be allowed from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fire up the system outside those windows and you risk a fine. Residential violations come with a $100 hit, while commercial customers start at $200, with penalties rising to $500 and $1,000 for repeat offenses. Town officials say fines can show up on utility bills, and continued noncompliance could affect service, according to WBTV.
Not everything green has to go brown, though. Hand watering, drip irrigation systems and handheld hoses with automatic shutoffs are still allowed. Commercial nurseries are permitted to water their inventory, and several local amenities are off the hook because they rely on other water sources. That includes the Mooresville Golf Club, the Mazeppa Park baseball fields and the Liberty Park splash pad, according to WBTV.
Why Officials Moved Now
The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council reports that much of the Catawba Wateree basin is now in severe to extreme drought and says water managers should trigger low inflow protocols to protect reservoirs, according to the council.
Regional maps and reporting show pockets of “exceptional” drought, the U.S. Drought Monitor’s most serious category, in parts of Cabarrus, Union and eastern Mecklenburg counties. It is a level the area has not seen since 2007, according to The Charlotte Observer.
How Residents And Businesses Can Respond
Town leaders are urging residents to get serious about daily conservation. That means skipping irrigation between sunrise and sunset, taking shorter showers, running only full loads in the washer and dishwasher, checking for leaky fixtures and holding off on washing vehicles or power washing around the house, according to WBTV.
Mooresville Public Utilities notes that the town treats water drawn from Lake Norman at two water treatment plants. Customers with questions about the new rules or their service can contact Public Utilities at 704-663-7282, according to Mooresville Public Utilities.
Mooresville’s move follows earlier mandatory cutbacks from other local suppliers, including Iredell Water’s restrictions, and underscores that this is a regional response as reservoirs run low, according to WSOC. Town officials say they will keep tracking reservoir levels and the U.S. Drought Monitor and will adjust the rules as conditions change.
