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City updates water‑shortage plan after new French Broad intake; three gauges to set drought stages
Summary
The city's water shortage response plan will use three river gauges tied to the new French Broad intake, changing the triggers for advisory and mandatory conservation stages and reducing the statistical likelihood of entering severe drought stages, staff said.
City staff updated council on revisions to the water‑shortage response plan that reflect the new French Broad River intake. Utilities Director Adam Stiry said the plan will move from reliance on a single Mills River gauge to a three‑gauge approach — two on the French Broad and the Mills River — using a 7‑day rolling average to determine stages 1–4 and a 14‑day waiting period to move to a higher stage.
Stiry explained the hydrologic benchmark used for triggers (a 7‑day Q10 flow) and noted the new intake increases drought resilience: based on nearly 88 years of gauge data, the city would be far less likely to enter stage 1 (estimated 99.5% less likely) or stage 2 (99.9% less likely) under the revised triggers, and historical analysis indicates the city would not have entered stage 3 or 4 under the new configuration. "We're not suggesting any changes to the uses themselves," he said, "but we're moving to use three river gauges because we have multiple water sources, really being the French Broad River."
The revised plan also simplifies stage names for public clarity (advisory, warning, alert, emergency) and retains the policy option for rate surcharges in higher stages. Council members asked about the numeric trigger values for the Mills and French Broad gauges and were told those flow thresholds and the administrative notification protocols are part of the updated plan staff will finalize.
