Durham is about to tap into 1 billion gallons of emergency water as drought continues
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- As drought conditions continue across the region, Durham officials are turning to an emergency water source in an effort to preserve the city's dwindling reservoir levels.
The city is preparing to bring Teer Quarry online, allowing crews to pump water from the former quarry to help meet daily demand and extend the supply available in Lake Michie and Little River Reservoir.
"We're in a position we've never been in before," said Dirk Cartner, assistant director of Durham Water Management. "We've never seen our reservoirs so low at this period of the year."
Officials say the quarry contains about 1 billion gallons of water. At roughly 240 feet deep, Teer Quarry took about 18 years of rainfall to reach its current level.
During the past six weeks, crews have installed a temporary pumping system that will move water from the quarry to the city's treatment system.
"What you're seeing is a temporary pumping setup as a response to the current drought conditions," Cartner said. "We're hoping to access the water contained within Teer Quarry to help with the daily demand that our residents require."
Once pumping begins, city officials expect the quarry's water supply to last about 200 days.
"The water in the quarry will help extend the life of the water supply in Lake Michie and Little River," Cartner said.
While Durham officials say conservation efforts are making a difference, they want residents to do more.
The city reports water use has dropped about 12%, but officials are aiming for a 30% reduction.
"We'd love to see more," said James Lim with the City of Durham. "We'd love to see about 30%. We've got a ways to go to get there, but we'll take everything we can get."
To help conserve water, officials recommend:
- Steaming food instead of boiling it.
- Scraping plates before loading the dishwasher instead of rinsing them.
- Using the correct load-size setting on washing machines.
- Reusing rinse water to water plants.
In addition to Teer Quarry, Durham is supplementing its water supply with water from Jordan Lake and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority.
The city says it has received more than 250 complaints related to water restriction violations and has issued three formal warnings.
Resident Desari Constanza said her family has made changes to help conserve water.
"I've just been trying to have my daughters conserve water as much as possible," Constanza said. "My granddaughter can't play in the pool or sprinkler. If she does, I'll limit it to just an hour."
Water from Teer Quarry is expected to begin flowing to the Williams Water Treatment Plant on Wednesday as Durham continues efforts to manage its water supply through the drought.
