Raleigh Water Use Drops

Raleigh, N.C. — Water use by City of Raleigh customers dropped late this week after reaching near-record highs earlier.

After reaching the city's third- and fourth-highest records on Tuesday and Saturday,  water use dropped by nearly 13 million gallons on Wednesday, said water management officials.

The amount of water drawn from Raleigh's main water treatment dropped again by 1 million gallons on Thursday, officials said.

Code enforcement officers also "found very few" violations of new water restrictions, making "a stark contrast" compared to 202 citations issued the week before, said Raleigh's Public Utilities Director, Dale Crisp, in a press release.

Crisp attributed the drop to combination of factors, including the recent rain and greater awareness of the water shortage and the restrictions.

On Wednesday, city officials warned that they might toughen water restrictions if the high water use continued. The current restrictions, implemented July 2, allow residents to use lawn irrigation systems on just three days a week.