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Raleigh water officials say Falls Lake is more than 5 feet low as drought persists
Summary
Raleigh Water assistant director Ed Buckin warned the city is experiencing an unusually persistent drought that has left Falls Lake down "over 5 feet" and prompted ongoing water-use restrictions, though recent rains raised reservoir availability from 62% to 66%.
Raleigh Water assistant director Ed Buckin said the city is facing an unusually persistent drought that has significantly reduced reservoir levels, with Falls Lake "down, over 5 feet right now," and called the current conditions “likely the drought of record” for the area.
Buckin said the drought is unusual because it manifested during the winter and spring—months normally used for watershed recovery—and that the pattern of weekly reservoir losses of two to three percentage points has only recently reversed after localized rain in the Falls Lake watershed increased available water from about 62% to 66%. He cautioned that rain in downtown Raleigh does not translate into recovery for Falls Lake because of watershed boundaries and that recovery can take many months.
The assistant director said city operations remain cautious: water-use restrictions are still in effect while staff continue monitoring. He pointed listeners to the city’s public dashboard for status updates and emphasized that local conservation by customers reduces demand on drinking-water supplies.
