Residents in York County urged to conserve water during Stage 1 drought
The South Carolina Drought Response Committee say a Stage 1 drought persists for York County and residents should reduce their water use by 3 percent to 5 percent.
Rock Hill, which supplies water to both Fort Mill and Tega Cay, has released voluntary conservation guidelines for residents, said Jimmy Bagley, deputy city manager.
He said the recent rain has been scattered too much to improve the conditions countywide. During this stage, residents are asked to voluntarily conserve water, including limiting watering to no more than two days a week and reduce washing sidewalks or parking lots.
“We’re asking everyone to monitor it,” he said.
With the lack of rain, the Rock Hill’s water department has had to meet a growing demand, Bagley said.
“We’re producing more water than we’ve ever produced,” he said. “It’s really taxing to the system.”
Because Fort Mill and Tega Cay get water from Rock Hill, they also follow suit with the restrictions, said Paul Mitchell, Fort Mill engineering director.
“If asked to conserve, it is important for all to share because only through our combined efforts can we produce a meaningful impact on our water resources,” he said. “Citizens have reacted very well to the requests for conservation in the past.”
It’s something we can do to help out.
Fort Mill resident Joy Beckwith said when she learned of the drought she turned off her automatic irrigation system.
During the drought in 2008-2009, the county entered Stage 3 Severe Drought status with mandatory restrictions, said Tom Goebel, Tega Cay development services director.
Since that drought, the Rock Hill has always imposed voluntary restrictions on water usage, regardless if the county is in a drought stage, Bagley said.
“We ask everybody to be considerate and manage our resources as if we were,” he said.
Water use is lower than it was six to seven years ago, Bagley said.
“People are more conscientious about how they use water,” he said.
We have minimized our footprint.
Fort Mill resident Caleb Saruse said his family lives in a smaller house
makes sure to keep faucets off when they aren’t in use and cut back on water when they can.With this drought, the city is seeing its first increase in years.
Well users are also asked to conserve water because all of Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Tega Cay share the same water table, Mitchell said. He said with limited rainfall, the stream level of the creeks rely on groundwater.
“So whether we’re on a well or getting our water from a reservoir, we are all connected,” he said.
The drought stage is determined by several factors, including lake levels, six and-four- month averages of stream flow and input from the U.S. Drought Monitor, which looks at three month precipitation averages, Goebel said.
If conditions do not improve, the Drought Response Committee will meet again in a month to reevaluate the drought stage, Bagley said. That could mean moving to Stage 2 and mandatory water restrictions.
“It’s definitely something we are all worried about,” he said.
If the drought continues, residents will see tighter restrictions, such as having to live on 250 gallons of water per day, per household, Goebel said. That could mean no landscape irrigation, no car washes, no pressure washing and a moratorium on new water connections.
“Our normal way of life would be significantly altered,” he said. “It can turn worse pretty quickly.”
Goebel said Tega Cay residents have always complied with the restrictions.
“Historically, Tega Cay is blessed with residents who are involved and extremely interested in environmental issues,” he said. “We are all in the same boat. If people are wasting water, not only are they hurting themselves, but they are hurting their neighbors too.”
Hope MacBride, who has lived in Tega Cay for 21 years, said she remembers the conditions during the last drought.
“You couldn’t water every day,” she said. “Everything was so dry.”
MacBride said that drought was so bad that docks were on dry land. She said she tries to use as little water as possible and has planted drought-resistance bushes in her yard.
“We should conserve water whether there’s a drought or not,” she said. “It is a natural commodity and you never know when you’re not going to have it.”
Residents weigh in
What’s residents have to say about following water restriction guidelines:
Fort Mill resident Thomas Torrey said his family tries to cut back on water usage by doubling up on baths for their young sons and making sure their hoses aren’t dripping. However, they have water needs.
“We certainly use plenty,” he said. He said the current drought advisory makes sense has he hasn’t seen much rain in the area.
Fort Mill resident Caleb Saruse said his family makes sure to keep faucets off when they aren’t in use and cut back on water when they can. He and his wife also live in a small house. “We have minimized our footprint,” he said.
Fort Mill resident Joy Beckwith said when she learned of the drought she turned off her automatic irrigation system.
“It’s something we can do to help out,” she said.
Learn more:
Here are some tips to conserve water:
▪ Using low-volume, drip irrigation and hand-held watering to reduce the use of sprinklers, irrigation systems or other remote landscape watering devices.
▪ Limit watering to no more than two days per week.
▪ Use best management practices regarding efficient irrigation. Visit irrigation.org for tips and guidelines.
▪ Reduce washing of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts and other hard surfaced areas.
▪ Reduce washing buildings for purposes other than immediate fire protection.
▪ Reduce flushing of gutters.
▪ Reduce residential washing of vehicles. Use car washes that use recycled water instead of washing vehicles at home.
This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Residents in York County urged to conserve water during Stage 1 drought."