Communities throughout the Catawba River Basin are asking customers to conserve water due to reduced lake storage across the region, decreasing streamflows, and current drought conditions.
The City of Hickory, in cooperation with other major water suppliers along the Catawba River, and Duke Energy participate in a joint management effort to properly manage the water resources available within the Catawba River Basin. For more than 20 years, this partnership has overseen the development and implementation of the Low Inflow Protocol (LIP), a shared framework used to guide water management decisions during periods of drought or low water availability.
Due to ongoing dry conditions, Hickory City Manager Warren Wood has declared a Stage 1 LIP condition in accordance with the City’s Water Shortage Response Plan. This declaration is based on lower lake storage levels, declining streamflows, and current drought conditions resulting from this year’s lack of rainfall. Warmer temperatures have further contributed to water loss through increased evaporation.
The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group closely monitors basin conditions and reviews lake levels, streamflow, drought conditions, and groundwater levels each month during drought periods. On April 16, these indicators met the criteria for a Stage 1 LIP declaration.
Stage 1 LIP: Voluntary Conservation
Stage 1 is the first phase of voluntary water conservation. The goal is to reduce overall water use by 3-5%. Customers are encouraged to help meet this target by taking simple steps such as:
• Watering outdoors no more than one inch per week
• Reducing lawn and landscape irrigation to no more than two days a week by the following method:
i. Odd addresses may water on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
ii. Even addresses may water on Thursdays and Sundays.
iii. Unnumbered addresses follow the even address schedule.
• Avoiding watering during daytime hours
• Reducing residential vehicle washing
Customers are asked to maintain this 3-5% reduction until further notice.
Areas Affected
The following partner governmental and nonprofit systems served by the City of Hickory are included in the Stage 1 declaration:
• All customers billed directly by the City of Hickory
• Cities of Conover and Claremont
• Towns of Brookford, Catawba, Long View, and Maiden
• Portions of Alexander and Catawba counties
• Icard Township Water Corporation
What’s Next
If drought conditions continue, higher LIP stages may be declared. Advanced stages include mandatory water conservation measures. The City will provide updates as conditions change.
For questions, customers are encouraged to contact their local water provider. Additional conservation tips are available from the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group at www.catawbawatereewmg.org.