Cape Fear Public Utility Authority has implemented a Stage 1 Water Conservation Advisory, effective Friday and continuing until further notice, for customers in the northern part of New Hanover County served by the Richardson Water Treatment Plant and those in the Middle Sound area.
Richardson, the second-largest of CFPUA’s three drinking-water distribution systems, serves about 29,000 customers in northern New Hanover County, including Murrayville, Wrightsboro, Porters Neck, and parts of Castle Hayne and Ogden.
Use this interactive map to determine if an address is in the area under the Stage 1 Water Conservation Advisory. A static map of the advisory area is available here.
The recent spell of hot, dry weather has increased demand to the point where the Richardson Plant has operated at more than 80 percent capacity for three days in a row (May 27-29). Customers in Middle Sound continue to report periods of low water pressure.
The Stage 1 restrictions are being put in place to help ensure water is available for all customers and for essential services such as fire protection.
CFPUA staff are working on options to potentially increase capacity and optimize its systems. CFPUA encourages all customers to use water wisely and conserve whenever possible. Depending on conditions, this advisory could be expanded to additional customers and/or escalated.
Find tips for how you can conserve water indoors and outdoors.
A Stage 1 Advisory includes a number of restrictions on irrigation.
The chart below outlines irrigation restrictions under conservation stages, with the current Stage 1 restrictions outlined in red. Note that your irrigation schedule depends on your service address. Even house numbers (e.g. 1010 Main St.) may irrigate on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Odd house numbers (e.g. 1011 Main St.) may irrigate on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
On days when irrigation is permitted for your address, installed sprinkler systems may be operated from midnight to 6 a.m. and hose-end sprinklers from 6-10 a.m.
* Residential customers washing vehicles should use a trigger nozzle that automatically shuts off when not in use.
An application for a permit (mentioned in the table above) to allow for irrigation of new landscape may be found here.
You can get alerts about important events such as this advisory specific to your location by signing up for CFPUA’s new emergency alerts system called CivicReady.
CivicReady allows customers to receive customizable alerts in the event of an emergency that may affect their water or wastewater services or other critically important information. Alerts can be delivered by email, text message, telephone call. They also can be delivered in one of several languages.
The service is free and can be modified or canceled at any time. Sign up today at: CFPUA.org/CivicReady.